


Man in the Portrait

by eterninity, tinkzoned



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, M/M, Portrait!Chanyeol, Romance, Sad, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 10:10:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4056118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eterninity/pseuds/eterninity, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinkzoned/pseuds/tinkzoned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chanyeol only had 24 hours when he was given a chance. Baekhyun wanted forever when everything was too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Lina, Jackie, M, Macy and Hani for the support and help. This fic is dedicated to all Chanbaek shippers.

A small bookstore on one of Seoul’s many streets was filled and crammed with a wide range of people of all ages. Some of them came to buy the books, and some just to sneak a glance at the pages of the novels of their choice, not really intending to buy anything from the store. Of the staff dressed in purple uniforms, some were busy handling the endless stream of customers flowing in and out of the store. Others were busy arranging the books according to their genres or cleaning the mess some children had made in the junior fiction section.

A light breeze from the air-conditioner spread the faint scent of freshly-printed ink on crisp paper, a familiar aroma which was almost comforting to the regulars. The place was a bit smaller than everyone’s liking, but that didn’t alter the fact that it brought them reassurance in their passion for books. However, a certain young man standing alone in the sea of people, never assumed that the place would be anything like a heaven. He actually felt suffocated; as if he was in hell.

It was another solitary day for him, just like every other day he had been through. He wore a calm face even though he was inwardly feeling quite the opposite. He was standing still in between the high shelves of books, eyes scanning through each of the displayed books casually. He took out a thick, heavy book from its original place: the one that had caught his interest. But as his eyes landed on the spine of the book, reading the title silently, he soon put it back with a sigh.

He heard a small whimper. Looking at his right side, a woman was holding a pile of several books, seemingly unbalanced. He wanted to help, but decided not to when suddenly another guy came closer and volunteered to help the woman instead.

Shrugging his shoulders, he took a few steps forward. His gaze momentarily shifted back to the neatly arranged books on the shelves. He figured that he was done for the day. Spending his free time in a bookstore was not listed in his list-to-do for the day, or forever. He hated books and anything that had to do with reading to, put it simply. But he had nothing else to do, and he had nowhere else to go other than strolling around the city doing useless things.

Seconds after, he walked from aisle to aisle, looking down at his foot as he set off at a slow pace to the exit.

When he barely managed to get out of the place, there was a faint sound of a message tone coming from his phone. He fished it out from his pocket to see that someone had sent him a text message. Another three messages were left unread though, and he didn’t reply to any of them. He just didn’t care.

He continued wandering through the streets, checking out various shops and cafes. He had been to the coffee house, cinema, abandoned alleys, and he even walked around the entire mall in just a few hours for that day. His legs felt numb afterwards, but he didn’t feel troubled at all.

If someone were to see him closely and try to read his face and mind, they wouldn’t know anything. He hid his emotions behind that stoic expression of his, and he knew that was enough. Pretending to be fine was all he could do, because he knew he could do nothing to reverse the time and change everything that was supposed to be changed back then.

As he made his way to the corner of a building, his eyes caught a glimpse of a figure sitting down on small stool just a few meters away from him. It was a small figure of an old man, and he was painting something on a white canvas. Scooting closer, he then noticed that the old man had already finished painting some pictures. The canvases were put carefully against the wall of the building and most of them were actually portraits of real people, he noticed.

But as he walked closer, he noticed that the one that the old man was painting at that moment was not of a real person. He knew that for sure, because he had seen the person on the canvas before. The same sad yet mysterious eyes, pointy ears and face that loomed of sadness and happiness at the same time: he recognized them. Nothing had changed. His eyes blinked uncontrollably, and past thoughts began playing repeatedly in his mind, finding ways to make him realize that he was too late to change everything.

A sudden realization hit him, and he managed to gather his thoughts back. Tears were now slowly forming behind his eyes, but he told himself that he’d had enough of crying. No one should know about anything that he had been through before, and he had promised himself that he would never cry in front of anyone; not even when he was alone.

“Ahjussi?”

He called out for the old man after a few seconds of hesitation. Maybe it was finally the day to start anew; to start hoping that miracle would happen again in his life. He couldn’t do anything but hope.

The old man’s hand stopped moving. He was in the middle of finishing the last stroke on the canvas. Taking his time, he pulled away the paintbrush, resting it casually between his wrinkled yet pointy fingers. He looked at the young man, who was now squatting beside him. The old man didn’t sense his presence before, but he didn’t feel surprised with the sudden appearance of the latter.

“Yes?”

The old man sounded so nice, as if he would do anything for the man beside him. He flashed a warm smile to the younger, as if telling him that today would turn out to be a better day for him.

“W-Where did you find this person?”

It took the old man a few minutes, but he finally answered with a smile plastered on his face.

“I found him in my dream.”

His heart momentarily stopped. He didn’t expect for such an answer. It was like deja vu, but he didn’t remember when and where he had experienced the same scene before.

“C-Can I possibly buy this portrait?” he hesitantly asked, eyes shooting directly to the canvas. The painful memories came again, and he decided not to brush them away anymore. They were too beautiful, and he was happy that the day had finally come. He finally got to meet the person he had longed to meet for a long time; even if it was just a picture of him.

The old man smiled again.

“What is your name, young man?” he asked back, and his eyes focused back on the completed portrait of a fine young man on the canvas. He dipped the paintbrush in the black paint, ready to write the receiver’s name on it.

Maybe it wasn’t wrong to hope for something that might not happen. It wasn’t wrong, as long as he had faith in it, he thought. Slowly, he smiled, but it didn’t stay long before he replied to the old man’s question.

“Byun Baekhyun.”


	2. One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol only had 24 hours when he was given a chance. Baekhyun wanted forever when everything was too late.

It was somewhere in late of November when he first opened his eyes and realized that the world around him was so beautiful. He had never seen such a view before. Little did he know, if he looked closer, he was actually in a confined room. Strangely, the view was still beautiful to him, though he realized that it was in a total mess. Half of the room was filled with white canvases laid against the wall along with dozens of paintbrushes scattered on the floor to add up to the chaos in the room. A dusty middle-sized cabinet took up most of the spaces, leaving no room for the small things to cast their shadows on the floor.

In front of him, there was a middle-aged man with smiling eyes and a wrinkled forehead, looking at him intently. He somehow looked dissatisfied. As time passed, the man occasionally frowned and smiled at the same time. He wondered why he was right in front of the unknown man, and why he couldn’t move a single bit of his body when the man _could._

A small chuckle escaped the man’s lips, leaving him in confusion. There was a whisper telling him to scream. He wanted to scream so loudly when the man suddenly pointed a paintbrush right at his left eye, or so he thought. However, luck was not on his side because he couldn’t let any voice out. A brief second later, a woman around the man’s age, with brown wavy hair and a gentle-looking face walked into the messy room, bringing a cup of tea in her hands.

“He looks gorgeous, dear,” the woman said in awe as she turned her head to the man’s direction. She set the cup on a small desk right at the corner of the room. Later then, she walked straight and stood beside the unknown man.

“Doesn’t he?” A smile hovered on the man’s chapped lips. He looked somehow exhausted and weary, but he managed to let out a sigh of relief as he stood up and walked away to grab the cup. He took a sip of his drink, savoring the fine taste of freshly brewed tea.

The woman then sat on the chair, a little bit wobbly before she stabilized herself on it. She then looked at him attentively while squinting her eyes a bit. “What is his name?”

“What is it?” The middle-aged man who was still sipping at his tea looked at the woman.

“He should have a name too, like your other works; Mark, Stefan and all.” She smiled as she turned around to see the man.

“I’m thinking of a suitable Korean name for him, since he looks a lot like a typical Korean guy,” he mused. “My other works were all real people who have their real names, but… this one is not.”

“He’s not a real person?” The woman looked so surprised. Her eyes widened, a bit startled when she turned around to look at him again. “But he looks so real and beautiful.”

The man chuckled. “I met him in my dream last night. It felt so surreal, like I don’t even know if he really exists or not. Maybe I’ve once stumbled upon him while I was walking on the street. You know, things like these sometimes happen to many people.” He explained before giving a stare at the woman, and put the cup back on the desk. Wiping his lips with his long and thin fingers, he walked forward towards the woman.

“Did he appear in your dream?” The woman asked back. “That’s so wonderful. How could you even remember what he looks like when he’s just a guy in your dream? And baby…” she stopped talking before continued. “I mean, look at his sparkling eyes. He’s a gorgeous boy.”

The man flashed a grin. “Like I said, it felt so surreal. This young boy right here, I think he was trying to tell me something last night. We were in a small cottage surrounded by a corn field and I don’t think I know where that place is. But when I wandered around the cottage, this boy happened to be there,” the man stopped talking for a while as he recalled his dream.

“He told me that he had been waiting for me for quite some time and wanted to tell me something. I was startled at first, not knowing what to reply. And seconds after, he was gone. He literally vanished into thin air. Just like that, right before my eyes, and that’s when I jolted up from sleep, realizing that it was only just a dream.” He then sighed in disappointment. The dream was still fresh and new in his mind, so how could he forget such a gorgeous face?

“So is that why you decided to draw his face?”

“I guess so. Maybe he’s real in this life. Maybe he’s just my imagination. But there’s something I felt whenever I drew every single line of his features. I don’t know, but this is the first time I felt so happy drawing someone’s face though I don’t even know who he is.”

The woman smiled in return. “So are you indicating that you weren’t happy when you drew those previous portraits of yours?”

“No, it wasn’t like that. Of course I was happy.” He smiled, taking a deep breath in between the sentences. “After all, drawing is my passion,” he added. “But this time, it feels different. Drawing him is one of the best things I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s hard to explain, darling.”

The woman smiled. She understood it clearly. Emotions or feelings were something that people weren’t be able to explain, even through spoken words. Nodding her head slightly, she asked the man. “So what are you going to name him?”

The man walked up, his hands wrapping around the woman’s shoulders. “I think I’m going to name him _Chanyeol._ ”

“Chanyeol,” the woman repeated. “That’s a nice name. I really love it, dear.” She smiled once again before taking a good look at the subject. “Maybe I should buy a frame for him too.”

It was only later that Chanyeol knew that he was just a man in the portrait, not a human being like the man or the woman before his eyes.

  
  
  


 

It was three days later when Chanyeol knew that his creator’s name was Mr. Byun. A few minutes after Mr. Byun was satisfied with his artwork, Chanyeol was put in the living room, with a silver frame adorned around the portrait. It was a frame Mr. Byun’s wife had bought two days ago. Chanyeol silently thanked Mr. Byun for putting him there because it was the perfect place to see people going in and out from the house.

Mr. Byun was actually a famous painter, Chanyeol learnt. The former had traveled all around the world, drawn every single face of people he had talked to, and turned them into a beautiful portrait. Some portraits he had drawn would be sold to anyone who would pay under reasonable prices, while some of them would be put and displayed in his gallery. If the portrait was precious to him or if it reminded him of some sweet moments, he would keep them in his house.

However, Chanyeol wasn’t like any other of Mr. Byun’s drawings. He was actually a tad different. He could understand the things people said whenever they saw his portrait, and Chanyeol could never pretend that he actually understood what they were saying.

“He looks so beautiful!”

“Look at his big eyes!”

“Your wife is right. His eyes really sparkle.”

If Chanyeol could talk, he would thank all of them for the compliments. Most of Mr. Byun’s friends were artists too, so he was really glad because he was being praised for being a beautiful portrait drawn by his creator. Their eyes would fix onto Chanyeol’s portrait, trying to decipher the meaning behind his deep stare. For the first time in his life, Chanyeol was proud to be living in this world, though he was only a portrait.

Other than that, Chanyeol could tell that Mr. Byun’s house was quite big. Looking at how big the living room was, he could tell that Mr. Byun was a rich person. However, there were only two people staying in it: Mr. Byun and his wife. Judging by how quiet the house was, Chanyeol guessed Byun’s family hadn’t had any child. He had seen some of Mr. Byun’s friends come with their children, and Chanyeol liked how their laughter filled the house. Maybe Mr. Byun didn’t have the chance to have children like his friends had. At least not now.

Sometimes, Mr. Byun would clean his portrait with a clean towel, treating him like he was made of fragile material. Chanyeol wanted to thank Mr. Byun so much for creating him, for letting him live in this world, but then again he knew he could never do that.

Sometimes, Mr. Byun would talk to him about everything. Even though Chanyeol couldn’t reply to Mr. Byun’s words, he wanted to let the man know that he would listen to everything.

  
  
  


 

Chanyeol never knew how he looked like. He kept wondering and asking some questions to himself. Was he a handsome man like Mr. Byun? Were his eyes really sparkling as what Mrs. Byun had said on the first day they met? And other than that, what color of skin tone did he have? All those questions kept lingering around Chanyeol’s mind, and they kept bugging him.

His questions were answered one day; maybe God heard his silent prayers when Mr. Byun bought a big mirror and asked the men to place it right across the wall Chanyeol was put. When it was set up carefully, it was then Chanyeol could clearly see his face for the first time.

Chanyeol was left speechless; even though he could never talk in the first place. His eyes stared into distance, looking at himself through the mirror.

He had big brown-black eyes, and it really sparkled just like Mrs. Byun had said before. He didn’t know what color his hair had, but it was similar to something like wine, Chanyeol noticed. He remembered the color of wine when Mr. Byun called over his friends to come over to his house and had a few nonchalant talks, accompanied by couple glasses of wine until midnight came.

Chanyeol’s eyes then focused on his lips. They were a bit plump, light red in color that almost shamed the roses. His nose was not too short or too long; it was perfectly fine. His eyes darted to the lower part of the portrait of him, noticing that he wore a coat and a striped shirt on the inside. However, there was one thing that irked him the most. Chanyeol didn’t like his ear. He had big ears that stuck out too much, not like Mr. Byun’s. The latter’s ears were fine and looked perfect too, Chanyeol thought. Even so, it wasn’t like he could complain about it to Mr. Byun, because he wasn’t a human in the first place. Mr. Byun said he only met Chanyeol in his dream, so Chanyeol guessed that maybe he really looked like that.

  
  
  


 

Another thing Chanyeol kept noticing was when every time there were people who came to his house to appreciate Mr. Byun’s drawings, there would be one favorite question asked by them when they came across Chanyeol’s portrait.

“Where did you find him?”

And there would be a definite answer to the same question.

“He’s the only one that I found in my dream.”

Chanyeol couldn’t recall his meeting with Mr. Byun in his dream before he was created. He didn’t know why Mr. Byun kept talking to him as if he were a human. Maybe Mr. Byun was lonely. Maybe he had no one he could really talk to whenever he had bad times.

Mr. Byun always had that solemn face whenever he talked about his wife. He once told Chanyeol that he had married to her for almost four years, but luck was not on their side because they still had no sons or daughters. He didn’t blame their fate, he just didn’t know what had gone wrong.

“You know what, Chanyeol. I really wanted a son, long before we were married,” Mr. Byun said one day.

_Is that why you are always sad?_

“I just wanted my wife to be happy, because I know she’s been pretending to smile every time we talk about our friends’ children.”

Mr. Byun’s eyes then looked into Chanyeol’s eyes, hoping that the portrait would give a response. But he knew, that was utterly impossible. If and only if he knew that Chanyeol had been answering to each of his questions, he would never dare to say anything to Chanyeol; because portraits weren’t supposed to talk and understand everything.

When everyone had gone to sleep, it was then Chanyeol silently prayed that God would give Mr. Byun’s family happiness.

  
  
  


 

Miracles did happen. Mrs. Byun was pregnant when she told her husband that she felt sick. They had no idea that they would come home with good news from the hospital.

On the other hand, Chanyeol knew God heard his prayer. If he could scream in happiness, he would. He was so thankful that he was a part of this family, and he hoped they felt the same too.

  
  
  


 

It was somewhere in the late of May in 1992 when Chanyeol met him. Mr. Byun was rushing in and out of the house, carrying a lot of things in his hand as he tried to keep his body balanced. After a while, Chanyeol could see Mrs. Byun walk slowly towards the living room as she was holding something in her hand. Chanyeol was left surprised when he saw that her stomach was not big like nine months before, and he wondered what had actually happened. A few minutes later, Mr. Byun then dashed towards his wife and helped her out by guiding the way to the sofa.

Chanyeol’s eyes focused on the thing Mrs. Byun was holding. It was neatly covered with white towel and it somehow looked so small and _fragile._

“I’ll get the things from the car first. You just stay here with Baekhyun okay,” Mr. Byun said before leaving his wife alone.

If Chanyeol could make an expression, he was sure he would be frowning. That thing had a name like him, and the name was Baekhyun. It was a beautiful name, Chanyeol thought. After all, Mr. Byun was always good in choosing names. He even thought that his name sounded beautiful too.

Later, Mr. Byun came in and sat beside his wife. His face was filled with happiness, and Chanyeol clearly noticed that.

“You cutie pie,” Mr. Byun whispered as he kissed that thing named Baekhyun. When Mrs. Byun flipped over the towel that covered Baekhyun, Chanyeol then realized that Baekhyun was a baby. The painter’s gaze sparkled, and his smile turned wider as seconds passed by. He pinched Baekhyun’s cheek and kissed him on the forehead once again.

Chanyeol looked from afar and he couldn’t really tell what was going on. He felt something strike his heart; if he could feel any, but there was a pang of jealousy too when both of them smiled in happiness.

“Chanyeol,” Mr. Byun looked at him, smiling.

_Yes?_

“This is my precious son, Byun Baekhyun,” he said before pulling his eyes away to look at Baekhyun. “And Baekhyun. He’s my precious friend, Chanyeol.”

_Hello, Baekhyun._

Baekhyun’s eyes were small and Chanyeol swore that his portrait was four times bigger than Baekhyun.

Chanyeol was glad that the family finally grew bigger. There was nothing Chanyeol could wish for, as long as they were living a happy life. Above all, Chanyeol was grateful to be living with them too.

  
  
  


 

Baekhyun was almost two when he finally talked. The only words he knew were Dad, Mom and _Chanyeol_. Chanyeol was glad that he was in the list of words Baekhyun knew.

At times, Baekhyun would be left alone in the living room, playing all by himself. He would cry when he got bored, but when his eyes fixed at Chanyeol’s eyes, he would immediately stop crying. Chanyeol had a stare that would hush Baekhyun’s cry down, and he was glad that he was able to keep an eye on Baekhyun; although Mr. Byun had no idea that a portrait could keep an eye on his son.

At some other nights, Baekhyun would sleep in the living room with his right thumb stuck in his mouth. He often drooled too, and Chanyeol would say that Baekhyun was a cute boy.

Chanyeol sometimes wondered how life as a human would be. He was obviously jealous of the human’s ability to walk everywhere they wanted when all he could do was to stay still. He really wanted to feel the feelings by talking, like literally talking and how it felt to love and be loved.

He really wanted to be a human like Baekhyun.

  
  
  


 

Baekhyun was five when he had to face the most tragic incident that happened in his life. Mr. Byun was found dead in their bathroom due to depression. Unknown pills were scattered on the wet floor and blood was everywhere. Lying there near the bathtub, there was a small knife; and they believed Mr. Byun cut himself to death.

No one knew the real reason of his death. Mrs. Byun was so devastated by the news, but she had to be strong for Baekhyun.

On the other hand, Chanyeol wanted to cry so hard. At first, he didn’t understand what death meant to humans, or to him. But seeing how much Mrs. Byun suffer through days and nights without her husband, seeing how clueless little Baekhyun was when his mother kept hugging him and telling him to stay strong; Chanyeol supposed life as a human wasn’t that beautiful or perfect as he had always thought.

That night, the pain inside Chanyeol was greater than any other days as seconds came and went.

  
  
  


 

Chanyeol was left alone in the living room as usual. No one would talk to him like always, because the only person who always did that was Mr. Byun. And he wasn’t there anymore to accompany Chanyeol.

The rain was falling hard and thunder crashed in the sky, leaving Chanyeol to feel so lonely and afraid. He had gone through a roller coaster of emotions since he had been living in that house.

Chanyeol would feel happy if Mr. Byun talked to him and told him about his days.

Chanyeol would feel sad if no one was there with him when he needed one.

Chanyeol would feel jealous when he saw Baekhyun being hugged and loved so much by his parents because he wanted to feel it too.

Chanyeol would feel irritated every time he saw his reflection in the mirror, especially when his eyes focused on his ears.

Chanyeol had felt most kind of emotions; but he loved them anyway.

It was then he heard someone walk towards the living room quietly. The clock read 11pm, and Chanyeol wondered who would be around that area late at night.

It was Mrs. Byun, striding closer to Chanyeol. Her eyes looked heavy with emotions, and Chanyeol thought maybe she wanted to tell him something like her late husband had always done in his previous life whenever he was sad.

But his guess was wrong. Mrs. Byun didn’t come there to talk to him, or to complain anything to him. Instead, she took the frame off the wall and padded towards the stairs.

Chanyeol wanted to ask why, but he couldn’t. He barely heard a sniff coming from Mrs. Byun as she held the portrait tightly in her arms.

It was later then Chanyeol noticed they both arrived at the attic. When she opened the door to the attic, the surrounding was cold and unfriendly. It was dark and Mrs. Byun didn’t bother to switch on the lamp. Chanyeol couldn’t see anything in there.

He didn’t like it there. He preferred to be in the living room, even though sometimes he felt left out. But this was even worse than being in the living room.

He wanted to shout when Mrs. Byun put him on the floor and leaned him against the wall. Giving Chanyeol a last look, Mrs. Byun said, “I’m sorry, Chanyeol.”

_Why are you sorry?_

“You remind me of my late husband, Chanyeol.” She heaved a sigh. “I-I need to get rid of you before anything turns out of control.”

Chanyeol knew Mrs. Byun was still sad over her husband’s death, but that didn’t mean she could leave him alone in this confined, quiet attic. Chanyeol hated being alone; he hated seeing everyone dwelling in sadness. What wrong had a portrait done to make it receive such punishment? He had feelings too. Chanyeol wished he could tell the woman before him those words.

“Chanyeol.”

There was uncertainty in Mrs. Byun’s voice. Her eyes looked gloomy but Chanyeol’s were gloomier, if she could notice that.

_Please don’t leave me. I hate being alone._

“I’m sorry, Chanyeol. You’re the last one I put in here. I’m sure he would do the same thing if he were at my place.”

Chanyeol had already pictured his fate. Left alone in the confined, dusty room until someone came up to save him once again; that was what he was sure of.

He felt something wet fall from his eyes and he didn’t know what it was. That was the last time Chanyeol had seen the light when Mrs. Byun slammed shut the door, leaving the portrait in the darkness.

  
  
  


 

Chanyeol never knew it had been almost a year he was sitting still in the darkness, without no one to share the warmth with him. He missed everything, and he missed his reflection on the mirror. But the most important thing was that, he missed the family he was living with. He would never hear Baekhyun’s giggle in the living room whenever the child was left alone to play by himself. He would never hear compliments from visitors anymore, would never hear his heart beating in excitement whenever Mr. Byun or anyone talked to him. He missed everything.

  
  
  


 

Seconds came and went, and twelve years passed by so fast. Baekhyun had grown up into a lively boy. His cheerful smile resembled his late father so much. His artistic talent surely came from Mr. Byun, but he focused more on singing rather than drawing. Drawing wasn’t his cup of tea, and he wondered why someone would bother sitting for hours just to draw a picture on the canvas.

Baekhyun had mostly won in most of the singing competitions his school was holding together with his friends, Kyungsoo and Jongdae. Not to mention, he even got an invitation to perform on the stage with professional singers for the National Day. Although Baekhyun was famously known as one of the youngest singers in his district, his mother would still hate the fact that being famous was actually nothing.

Baekhyun’s father was once a famous painter too. Everyone thought he was living a happy life when in fact, he was living with depression. No one knew why, because he never told his problem to anybody; except to Chanyeol. But the thing was, he still screened some of them and chose to keep the problems in his heart. That was his problem.

And obviously Mrs. Byun didn’t want to lose Baekhyun too. She was afraid that Baekhyun would face too much pressure and end up doing the same thing like her late husband did.

Baekhyun had long forgotten how it felt to have a father, because he barely remembered anything when his father was gone. He was just five when he lost a father. And when graduation day appeared, Baekhyun would always ignore the glances he got because everyone in his class, or maybe school knew his dad was dead. The news spread quickly since his father took away his life on his own. And even though it had been years already, the tale of a famous painter killing himself due to depression was the one that would never die.

  
  
  


 

The attic was covered with dust and spider webs, Baekhyun noticed. A single dim light bulb lit the area as he turned on the switch. The place was quite small, with a steeply slanted roof and a small window at the west side. It was covered with a black rug which was blocking the sunlight to reach in the dark attic. Baekhyun covered his nose with his hands to avoid inhaling the dust, slightly coughing as he accidentally inhaled the dirty air.

He rolled up his sleeves, and bent his body down to rummage through the junks and old things his parents had put years ago.

As his eyes roamed around the attic filled with his late father’s belongings, Baekhyun finally found what he wanted.

An old photo book was there inside a small box behind the curtain, revealing the old photos of his family. His face lit up in happiness upon holding an old photograph of his mother and his late father together in their old house in Busan. It was back when Baekhyun wasn’t born yet. His mother was wearing a white dress with red polka-dots, and his late father was wearing a complete white suit, with a black walking stick in his grip. There was surely a vibe of old picture, since the color was almost faded. He squinted at the handwritten notes written at the back of the old photograph. Baekhyun guessed it was his father’s handwriting, since he was known to have a better handwriting than his mother.

A smile curved on his lips as Baekhyun turned around and decided to go downstairs, but he immediately stopped walking when he felt something was eyeing him. His goosebumps started peeking out on his fair skin, and Baekhyun’s eyes darted around once again.

No one was there in the attic. Actually, no one was _supposed_ to be there.

Baekhyun shook his thoughts away, pretending that he was being delusional. With one hand closing the door to the attic, he climbed down the stairs and hopped towards the kitchen which was located near to the attic.

“Mom! I found your picture!” Baekhyun’s voice resonated across the house. He gave his mother a warm hug before showing her the picture he found in the attic.

His mother finally smiled when the old picture exchanged hands. She had to wipe her tears of happiness, or maybe sadness, because she just missed her late husband.

She took a glance at her son for a moment. Baekhyun resembled her husband so much, and she had to admit that she would inevitably cry whenever she saw her son’s face. The happy eyes, the cheeky cheeks and the rectangular-shaped mouth whenever he smiled were all too similar. But all in all, Baekhyun was there with her and that was enough for her.

“Don’t cry, Mom,” Baekhyun pleaded with a whiny voice. He wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulder, pulling her into his warm embrace. “This is why I don’t want to show you the picture. I know this would somehow happen,” Baekhyun said, his mouth slowly turned into a pout.

She smiled while wiping her tears from her swollen eyes. “Shut up, Baek…”

Baekhyun hugged her tightly and he had to agree that he hated seeing his mother cry. He only had her in his life and seeing her shed any tears was the last thing he had ever wished for.

  
  
  


 

Chanyeol never expected that he would see Baekhyun again. He was surprised when he saw Baekhyun in the attic yesterday, and shockingly he came again today. His heart leaped in happiness when he saw Baekhyun’s face. The boy was rushing towards the corner in the attic, but Chanyeol could still see him from afar.

Baekhyun looked tired and disheveled, different than yesterday. Yesterday, he was so happy while looking at the photograph. Yesterday, he was so happy when he called out for his mother. But today, he wasn’t like that. Chanyeol somehow hated seeing Baekhyun’s tired face, and he wondered what had happened to the young boy.

It was then Baekhyun suddenly burst into tears. He buried his face in his palms, and his cries could be heard clearly too. His body shuddered, slightly in pain and anger because he felt that today was just an awful day for him.

Chanyeol wondered why, and what happened to him. He awfully wanted to ask Baekhyun, but he knew he could never do that. He was sitting there quietly, trying to read Baekhyun’s mind, since that was the first time he had seen Baekhyun cry all alone.

Chanyeol was startled with the sudden sound of the music that reverberated in the small room. He noticed that Baekhyun took something out of his pocket, and put it on his ear.

“No, just leave me alone.” Chanyeol suddenly heard Baekhyun’s voice.

He kept staring at Baekhyun from behind, who had his back facing Chanyeol. At times, Baekhyun would wipe the tears that fell on his cheeks. He was trying to sound as natural as possible when he talked to someone Chanyeol didn’t know.

“My mom won’t allow me to participate in that competition, alright?” Baekhyun said again. And this time, he was crying harder as he silently listened to the voice on the other line.

“No, please. I’m just fine, Sehun. Please don’t tell Yifan or anyone. Promise me.”

Silence again.

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks anyway.”

Baekhyun was done for that day. Taking his time, he stood up, straightening his body before he walked towards the stairs and climbed down.

On the other side of the attic, a portrait of a young man leaning against the wall was looking at Baekhyun intently until Baekhyun made his way out of the attic. He wished he could be with Baekhyun and told him that he would always be there whenever Baekhyun needed him. He wanted Baekhyun to know that he shouldn’t be afraid of being alone, because he, Chanyeol, would never leave him alone.

  
  
  


 

It was a typical night like any other nights. The clock struck almost midnight when Chanyeol suddenly heard a strange inhuman sound in the attic. Everything looked the same around him. Nothing appeared in front of him or frightened him. He heard the voice twice already, noticing that the sound was new to him.

“Interesting.”

A husky voice was heard. Chanyeol blanched. He was scared to death because he didn’t recognize that voice. The only voices he was familiar with were Mr. Byun and his wife’s. And _Baekhyun’s_ too. Their voices were friendly and kind, but this one, it had a very dangerous vibe in it.

_W-Who are you?_

“This is my first time seeing a crying _portrait_. Like really, you’re indeed a special one. I’ve never seen anything like this though.”

_Who are you?!_

“Ah, don’t be afraid, Chanyeol. I’m here to help you.” The voice chuckled in happiness, leaving Chanyeol to be more than afraid. “I can help you to become a _human._ ”

_Y-You can hear me? How do you know my name?_

“That’s quite a long story to be told. But let’s just assume that I am actually an angel sent from a place between heaven and hell,” said the voice. “And I know you need my help.”

Chanyeol doubted it. How could an angel sound so creepy and dangerous at the same time? Before Chanyeol could think any further, a sudden gush of wind hit him and the portrait fell down from the wall onto the floor, lying helplessly. Chanyeol was now staring defenselessly at the floor, realizing that he could do nothing to protect himself from the unknown voice.

“Hello, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol sensed his frame being picked up by someone, and he was put against the wall again. He swore his heart flinched in surprise when he saw the silhouette in front of him.

There was a man, wearing all black from head to toe. Chanyeol was obviously surprised with the sudden appearance of the unknown man. But of course, Chanyeol didn’t take a few steps back as he saw the man, who was bending his body down, face to face with him. He wished he could run away, but he forgot that he was just a portrait.

“Now boy, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you,” the unknown man said, as if he could sense the tense inside Chanyeol’s mind. He bent his body down lower so that his eyes met with Chanyeol’s. He picked the portrait up slowly and held it up high in the air, before putting it down against the wall back.

_D-don’t come closer to me._

The angel in disguise chuckled again. He pretended not to hear Chanyeol’s plea and walked closer.

“I heard your prayer,” he went on. “My name’s Kai. And I grant wishes from non-living things, like you,” the angel, Kai, whispered as he leaned in closer. He chuckled amusingly. Chanyeol didn’t like his tone though. Yet, he still believed that the man in front of him wasn’t a human either, because his instinct said so. He noticed that Kai’s eyes changed color every time his emotion altered too. When Kai was laughing, his eyes turned sapphire blue, and they would turn to blood red when he stopped laughing. That freaked Chanyeol out, but he guessed that was natural for an angel to have that ability.

“I know you wanted to be a human ever since you first saw the world around you,” Kai smiled as he said that. “Even though it was not an easy wish to be granted, I can still do that,” Kai said, sounded a bit promising.

_You can help me?_

“Of course I can, but there is one thing I need to tell you,” Kai smiled, but Chanyeol knew there was a hidden truth behind it. Somehow, he didn’t feel the need to hear Kai’s next words, but he had no choice but to do so.

_And what is that?_

“I can turn you into a human under one condition though,” Kai continued, and his smile curved even wider as he laughed cynically. His eyes turned to blue and red at the same time, and that scared Chanyeol even more.

On the other hand, Chanyeol knew he was going to sacrifice his life for that. He knew the time had come. After all, he really wanted to become a human. He wanted to be with everyone in the family, and Baekhyun too.

“Give me your soul in exchange,” Kai muttered under his breath, and he once again flashed a devious smile as he saw the sudden change in Chanyeol’s eyes. Humans couldn’t see or sense the sadness in his eyes, but Kai could easily tell that Chanyeol was confused and felt cheated at the same time. Life wasn’t as beautiful as Chanyeol had thought.

Chanyeol wanted to ask why. It was because of all things, why did he have to give his soul to the angel? But Kai had answered his curiosity without even being told to.

“Because you weren’t meant to be a human in the first place,” Kai mused. “And I can only give you a chance to be a human in just a day, not forever.”

_You weren’t meant to be a human in the first place…_

Chanyeol’s heart plummeted— _if he had one._ He knew he had no choice. Even though it was kind of unfair for him, he couldn’t voice out his objection. He was a mere portrait that needed a body for his soul to live in. Above all, he wanted Baekhyun to know that he would be there for him, and that he would love Baekhyun and sacrifice everything as long as Baekhyun was happy again.

And Kai laughed deviously as Chanyeol agreed to his condition.

Narrowing his eyes in dangerous way, Kai muttered, “You’re sure about this?”

Chanyeol didn’t need to be asked twice. He was really sure of his decision.

Smiling, Kai said, “You’ll regret this later.”

Chanyeol felt like the world around him was spinning so suddenly that he couldn’t see anything. Everything was pitch black. Though he was still afraid of what the new world would look like, he just let everything go. He knew that everything would be fine. He just knew.


	3. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol only had 24 hours when he was given a chance. Baekhyun wanted forever when everything was too late.

The muffled sound of a ringing alarm clock stuffed under pillows and blankets had woken Baekhyun up from his deep slumber. He turned off the alarm and managed to untangle himself from the thick sheets, only to find as he stared at himself in the mirror, that the puffy skin around his eyes had swollen from crying too much the day before. He patted his cheeks sharply, inwardly reminding himself to forget his mom’s words.

The sound of his phone’s ringtone caught his attention, pushing away any thoughts he had in his mind. Rubbing his eyes slowly, he managed to clear his blurred vision and grabbed his phone by the nightstand. As he squinted at the screen, he recognized Kyungsoo’s name.

He slid his finger against his phone, and Kyungsoo’s loud voice echoed through the speaker a few seconds later.

_“Wake up, Baek—”_

“Why are you calling me at this time? It’s seven in the morning for God’s sake!” Baekhyun groaned as he heard the laughter on the other side of the phone.

_“What did your mom say?”_ Kyungsoo asked.

Baekhyun bit his lips for a moment, before mumbling out in a small voice. “She… didn’t say anything.”

_“Did she give you permission to participate in the competition?”_

“For God’s sake, Do Kyungsoo, stop asking me!” Baekhyun snapped.

Once the words left his mouth in their aggravated tone, Baekhyun regretted it. He regretted yelling at Kyungsoo, who was clearly not at fault. However, knowing that Kyungsoo and Jongdae were allowed to participate in the competition and he was not, Baekhyun couldn’t help the jealousy that built up in his heart. Yes, he was jealous of his two friends. They all gave their everything just to be promoted in the competition, knowing that it wouldn’t be an easy chance for anyone. Their music teacher was of strict and detailed person, so they did try their best to demonstrate their true abilities in singing.

But luck was not on Baekhyun’s side. He didn’t understand what had gone through his mother’s mind. Maybe something triggered her heart the day before, reminiscing each moment she’d had with her late husband.

_“Alright, alright. I won’t ask you anymore,”_ Kyungsoo replied. _“I’ll… uhm… See you at college.”_

Baekhyun hung up abruptly, and threw his phone on the bed, only to realize that someone had been listening to him as they cleared their throat to gain his attention.

“Who was it?”

_Cold and unfriendly_ were the best words to describe the tone of her voice. Baekhyun flinched when he heard it. Throwing a glance at the door, he saw his mother, who was leaning against the wooden doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Kyungsoo,” he answered sharply, pretending to be busy as he stood up and headed to the closet near the window, kicking away his scattered and unwashed clothes and socks on the floor. He rummaged through his clothes inside the closet, trying to ignore his mom’s stare.

“Where are you going this early in the morning?”

Baekhyun looked up and answered, “College.”

“What for?”

“Because I want to?”

He walked to the bed and grabbed his towel by the rack before padding towards the bathroom. He noticed his mother’s sharp gaze, and thought it best to ignore it.

“Today’s Sunday and you don’t have classes on Sundays,” Mrs. Byun stated firmly. “Unless you’re attempting to attend the practice classes, which I am not going to allow you—”

“I believe we have agreed to stop talking about this, Mom. I think we’re done here.” Baekhyun stopped walking. He hung the towel on his shoulder, sighing as he ruffled his morning hair and attempted to walk into the bathroom.

“I am not done talking to you!”

Baekhyun halted. His knuckles went white, ears red, and eyes small. Turning around, he gave his mother an indignant look. She was standing a few meters away from him, and he could clearly see the change in her expression. She was furious.

“What is it again, Mom?”

He still respected his mom. He knew the fact that everything she said yesterday was true. She didn’t want her son to be like her late husband. But the thing was, everything was different now. His dad wouldn’t kill himself over something stupid. He wasn’t saying his late dad was _stupid_ for killing himself just because he was depressed. No.

Seeing how Baekhyun was striving to become a famous singer and how he was filling his precious times with singing just made him wonder: why couldn’t his mother notice? Why couldn’t she realize his passion for singing? He asked for nothing else but to be a well-known singer. He didn’t grow up to kill himself, so she shouldn’t be worrying over something like that. But she didn’t understand.

“I’m not going to allow you to participate in the competition. That’s the final say.”

“But, why?” Baekhyun pleaded.

“There’s no reason to it.”

“There must be a new reason to it, Mom. You gave me a ridiculous one yesterday. You can’t stop me from achieving my dream!”

“I don’t want you to be like your dad!”

“Who says I’m going to be like him? What’s the problem with me being a singer? He was a painter! I am a singer. We are different, Mom. Now if you’re worried I might take my life just like Dad did, just bear in your mind that I’m never going to do that.”

“You were small back then, Baek. You know nothing of your dad.” She lowered her voice, a mix of disappointment and regret written all over her face.

Baekhyun’s heart clenched. “Of course I know him. He’s my dad after all.”

Walking into the bathroom, he slammed the door behind and ignore the shout from his mom. He cupped his ears, silently wishing that his mother would just leave him alone and change her mind and allow him to join the competition.

  
  
  


 

It was almost nine when Baekhyun decided to go to the college. Grabbing his bag tightly, he headed down the stairs and found his mother sitting in the dining room. He halted, not knowing whether or not he did the right thing.

However, stubbornness took over and he decided it was best if he followed his guts. He would just attend the practice and pretend that his mother did allow him to enter the competition, even though he knew it would never happen.

He turned the knob as silent as possible, hoping that his mother wouldn’t hear the clicking sound. The front door finally pushed open, and much to Baekhyun’s surprise, there was a tall figure, much taller than himself, standing right in front of his house. His hair was completely disheveled probably messed up by the strong morning wind, and he was wearing all black from head to toe. However, Baekhyun did notice that the man wasn’t wearing a sweater to keep him warm from the cold weather. He was shivering a bit, indicating that he had been outside for quite some time. The weather was quite unpromising, and Baekhyun wondered why the man wait around without even knocking on the door.

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes and asked, “Can I help you?”

The unknown man looked up, his face showing a mix of surprise and happiness, though he didn’t reply to the other’s question.

Instead, the man’s arms suddenly wrapped tightly around Baekhyun’s petite body, and the shorter swore he could feel the rapid heartbeats from the unknown man. Rationally, one would shove a stranger away when he was hugged so suddenly, but Baekhyun didn’t do so. Instead he froze in his position, letting the man rub his back softly. He knew he should have been scared by the sudden contact, but strangely enough, he felt a slight sense of safety. The man smelt faintly of a fresh canvas and a new palette, leaving Baekhyun to unconsciously reminisce on past memories of his father. The familiar yet strange scent broke Baekhyun’s train of thought, finally registering that a _complete stranger_ was hugging him, and he attempted to push the man away, but to no avail.

Baekhyun’s face grew pale from the sudden wave of shock when he felt a hand touching his head.

The unknown man was stroking Baekhyun’s shiny hair, like how his mother always had. Fingers raked through his hair, and the stranger tightened his embrace.

The man had yearned to touch Baekhyun, always wanting to learn the feelings of hugging a human. He had seen Mr. Byun hugging his son whenever he was sad. If he had known earlier that hugging someone would bring calmness to his heart, he would do it every day. Ironically, he only had a day to fulfil his longing wish.

Baekhyun once again attempted to push the stranger away, and as the taller sensed the denial, he released Baekhyun from his arms.

Baekhyun seemed breathless. Stepping away from the taller man, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

The man appeared to be confused at first. He wanted to hold Baekhyun’s arm, but was shoved away instantly.

“W-Who are you?”

The taller man stopped moving. He knew straight away. _Baekhyun didn’t recognize him._

“W-Why did you hug me?” Baekhyun asked out of curiosity. His eyes grew wider as seconds passed, a sense of fear beginning to take over him. He scanned the man from head to toe, trying to remember him, and though something stirred in his mind, Baekhyun didn’t know what it was.

_I am Chanyeol._

If Chanyeol could talk, Baekhyun would have obviously known who he was. He would tell Baekhyun everything: from how he was actually a portrait-turned-human for just one day. But of course, no one would believe that. Being human wasn’t as easy as he had previously thought. He had never spoken before, and it was hard to cope with the surroundings without having learnt how to speak. Everything seemed so impossible to do, especially knowing he only had one day to do everything with Baekhyun. Chanyeol curled his fingers into a fist.

He struggled to speak, and his voice came out ambiguously, the other struggling to understand.

“C-Chan… y-yeol…”

“What did you say?” Creasing his eyebrows, Baekhyun looked right into Chanyeol’s eyes.

Chanyeol let out an exasperated sigh and his heart plummeted. He wished he could tell Baekhyun everything; that he was the same portrait Baekhyun used to know when he was a baby, and that he had known Baekhyun from the beginning. He knew he had done the stupidest thing ever by hugging the shorter man, but the urge to cheer-up Baekhyun’s day was just too strong, and he couldn’t deny that feeling of wanting to protect Baekhyun and keep him away from the sadness.

“Ch… Chanyeol,” he repeated, his voice a little more collected.

Baekhyun looked dazed for a second. The man’s voice was deep, in a way that Baekhyun somehow liked.

“Chanyeol?” Baekhyun guessed, partly hoping that he was right. “Is that your name?”

Chanyeol nodded instantly. A smile formed on his lips, knowing that at least Baekhyun finally knew his name. Perhaps, it was fine that way.

Baekhyun took a moment to scan over Chanyeol’s face. He was sure he had seen that face before, but where? A weird feeling glimpsed in his mind, but he couldn’t quite capture what it was. Even though they had just met, something made Baekhyun feel like he had known the man for years already.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Baekhyun couldn’t help but ask. A part of him wanted Chanyeol to say yes to his question. However, he still kept a fair distance from him because he was afraid with the sudden appearance of the tall man.

It felt so strange. Chanyeol wanted to nod, but his heart said the otherwise, and following his instinct, he shook his head slowly.

“Then why were you…” Baekhyun couldn’t finish saying his words, his voice faltering as the taller cut him off.

Chanyeol smiled sincerely, bringing the shorter male close to him again. However, that time around, Baekhyun knew better and pushed himself away. It felt awkward.

“No. No hugging please,” Baekhyun said, hands flailing up in the air before he took a few steps back once again. He almost stumbled on his feet slightly, but Chanyeol caught him by the waist. Baekhyun struggled to free himself from the taller man’s burning touch. Chanyeol however, was dumbfounded for a moment. He frowned, but his expression didn’t stay long, instead choosing to bow as a sign of apology.

Baekhyun grimaced. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the taller man straight in the face. His wide eyes, red lips and protruding ears; they were too familiar to Baekhyun despite not remembering having ever encountering the man before. He frowned as he kept thinking, only to realize Chanyeol bowed to him a second time.

“No, don’t be sorry, okay? It’s alright,” Baekhyun said, awkwardly pulling at the fabric of his shirt. He gave Chanyeol that scrutinizing look once more and decided to ask again, “But, really. Do I know you from somewhere?”

Chanyeol wanted to tell the truth. Baekhyun obviously knew him, but fifteen years were long enough to make Baekhyun forget about him. After all, Baekhyun hadn’t seen him after Mr. Byun had passed away, so Chanyeol couldn’t blame him for forgetting.

“A-Ah…” Chanyeol struggled with his words. His throat was hurting, almost as if it were swelling from overworking the unused vocal cords. Kai was right. He could never talk in front of Baekhyun. Even if he could find the courage to speak, it was difficult for him since his throat wasn’t used to talking as much as humans did. His heart ached slightly at the thought.

Baekhyun scratched his neck unconsciously feeling quite uncomfortable with the whole situation.

There were a few moments of silence before Chanyeol bent down unexpectedly, putting his hands on his stomach with a pained groan through gritted teeth.

“Hey! Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked, a sense of panic overcoming him. He touched Chanyeol’s shoulder hesitantly, but the man didn’t look up. Instead, he knelt down on the floor, eyes closed and teeth chattering. Baekhyun stood over the man nervously, not knowing what to do. He looked to the left and right, hoping that someone would come and help him, but there was no one to be found. He wanted to rush inside and call for his mom, but he didn’t feel that was needed.

“Do you have a stomach ache?” Baekhyun asked worriedly. _Stupid question,_ he knew that. However, he couldn’t help but ask. He kept looking at Chanyeol’s trembling hands. The air tensed and Baekhyun struggled to help the man stand back up, putting his left hand around Chanyeol’s waist to support him.

“Do you want to go to the hospital?”

Chanyeol groaned in pain again. His eyebrows knitted together as he endured the pain. Just as Baekhyun was about to ask another question, he heard a grumbling sound from Chanyeol’s stomach, freezing completely as he glanced over at the other.

“Are you… hungry?”

Chanyeol didn’t answer; his stomach did. It grumbled again, a bit louder the second time.

“You _are_ hungry,” Baekhyun concluded. He smiled when he saw the beads of sweat on Chanyeol’s forehead. “You haven’t had breakfast, have you?” Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol froze.

“Let’s have breakfast together. I haven’t eaten yet either.” Baekhyun casted a smile at Chanyeol as he slowly released his grip on the taller man’s waist. Chanyeol relaxed a little, and Baekhyun assumed that he was fine to walk on his own. He started to feel hungry too, but upon realizing that his mother was still inside and that they weren’t really on the best of terms, he took a step forward away from the door. “We can go to my favorite café,” he continued. “My treat.”

Chanyeol nodded again and without realizing it, his journey with Byun Baekhyun began.

  
  
  


 

They arrived at Baekhyun’s favorite café in the neighborhood. Noticing an empty table by the window, Baekhyun instinctively pulled Chanyeol’s hand and asked him to sit on the wooden chair.

The smell of freshly baked potato spread across the café, and Baekhyun’s stomach growled in hunger. He gulped down his saliva, sniffing the sweet aroma of white coffee that greeted his nose.

“What do you want to eat?” Baekhyun asked when a waiter came over and handed him the menu. He gave the menu to Chanyeol, asking the latter to choose what to eat for his breakfast.

Chanyeol eyed the menu intently. The writing was large and clear, but he still couldn’t understand anything. He never learnt how to read and the mixed symbols on the page only confused him more. He only knew how to understand things people said, and already took enough talent. He sighed unintentionally, gaining a concerned glance from Baekhyun.

“Why? What’s wrong? Don’t you like anything on the menu?” Baekhyun asked. He looked at the waiter who was standing at the table’s side, only to realize he shouldn’t say such a thing in front of the waiter. Baekhyun smiled apologetically before he threw a glance at Chanyeol once again.

“Baekhyun… Ch-choose.”

Baekhyun nodded and ordered quickly, getting two glasses of iced lemon tea and a plate of tuna sandwiches since he didn’t know what Chanyeol liked. It was minutes after that the waiter finally returned to their table, bringing their orders and Baekhyun could clearly see the relief and happiness in Chanyeol’s eyes.

Much to his delight, Chanyeol quickly grabbed the sandwich and eagerly shoved it into his mouth. He then looked at the straw in the glass in confusion before Baekhyun demonstrated how to use it, and copying the other, he sipped at his drink. Everything on the plate was finished in the blink of an eye. The only thing left was Baekhyun’s drink, which he hadn’t finished yet. Baekhyun handed over a napkin to the taller man, but Chanyeol didn’t know how to use it. The former had to motion and show Chanyeol the proper way to use it, and he blushed a bit as Chanyeol eyed him in concentration, following every movement of his pointy fingers. When Chanyeol finally figured out the correct way to wipe his mouth, Baekhyun let out a sigh of relief.

“So, where do you actually live?” Baekhyun started the conversation, though he wasn’t sure of what he should ask. He’d been yearning to know more about the mysterious man since the moment they had met that morning, because a part of his mind told him they’d met before. However, only ambiguous memories were playing in his mind, the incomprehensible thoughts only leaving him in a state of doubt and confusion.

Chanyeol put the napkin aside, taking a few deep breaths and staring at Baekhyun as he bit down on his lips.

_Why can’t you remember me?_

Chanyeol’s fingers curled into a fist involuntarily. “Home.”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed; he wasn’t expecting to receive such an answer. Nevertheless, he let out a soft chuckle seconds later because he certainly found Chanyeol to be a bit… cute, clumsy, even. Glancing at him from the side of his eye, he noticed how uncomfortable Chanyeol actually was. He fiddled with his fingers, kept his head down from time to time and there wasn’t a single moment when he could speak clearly. His eyes travelled everywhere, but had not even once focused on Baekhyun’s.

Baekhyun didn’t know who Chanyeol was, or where he came from. There was only one thing he knew for sure: that Chanyeol was a kind person; he could sense it. Even though Chanyeol didn’t look like a person who would protect anyone from danger, there was a strange feeling mingling inside Baekhyun, almost like his conscience was trying to assure him that Chanyeol was safe to be with.

Chanyeol gestured for the shorter man to wait for him, telling him to stay seated for a while. Baekhyun didn’t say anything in return, and instead just nodded. He took a sip of his iced lemon tea while his eyes stared deeply at Chanyeol’s movement.

Chanyeol walked towards a young boy sitting two tables away from their own, seemingly working on some homework. Piles of books were arranged on the table, and the boy was writing notes down in his book. Baekhyun narrowed his eyes, taking a few wild guesses as Chanyeol took his time to talk to the boy. _What was he doing?_

His thoughts were disturbed when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Fishing it out, he slid his finger against the screen, only to see that someone had sent him an SMS.

 

_My flight to Korea is this morning. Meet at Sehun’s tonight._

 

His heart froze at the short message. Why didn’t the sender tell him earlier? Perspiration dampened his forehead and palms, and it gave him goose bumps just to think about it. He wasn’t expecting the return, though he actually had been missing the sender. Why did nobody tell him about this?

He dialed up Sehun’s number, and waited for his friend to answer.

_“Hello—”_

“Why didn’t you tell me that he’s flying back to Korea this morning?” Baekhyun asked before the other could even finish his sentence.

_“Calm down, Baekhyun. Well, he asked me to keep this a secret from you,”_ Sehun croaked, his voice sounding tired. Baekhyun assumed that his dear friend had only just woken up from his deep slumber. Knowing Sehun for more than five years, Baekhyun knew that the man only got out of his bed at noon.

“You should’ve told me. I didn’t prepare anything for him!” Baekhyun exclaimed.

_“Hey, hey,”_ Sehun interrupted. _“Calm down, Baek. Everything is well prepared. We’ve had everything planned for three days already. Luhan and Junmyeon have been helping me. Did he say anything about coming to my house?”_

With his eyebrows knitted together, Baekhyun was completely confused. “What are you guys up to?”

_“Just a small party. You can come to my house now if you want. But I haven’t showered yet,”_ Sehun added.

“I—” Baekhyun paused. His eyes diverted to Chanyeol’s back, a voice in his mind telling him to decline Sehun’s offer. Chanyeol was giggling, and although Baekhyun wasn’t sure what the former was talking with the boy about, delight occupied his heart. “I don’t think I can come to your house right now. There’s something I need to do first.”

He was afraid that Sehun would get mad or be suspicious. Fortunately, the man didn’t sense the slight awkwardness in Baekhyun’s voice.

_“It’s all good,”_ Sehun replied. _“But make sure you come to my place tonight. He wants to see you.”_

“Alright.”

_“Chin up. Don’t think too much about that competition, alright?”_

He had almost forgotten about that, but when Sehun mentioned it again, his heart ached a little. Baekhyun hummed in response before hanging up.

It took Chanyeol roughly another five minutes to return back to their table, with a paper filled with written notes in his hand. He wanted to grab the paper when Chanyeol pulled his chair out; but the latter was faster than him. He hid the paper behind his back, before shaking his head at Baekhyun’s action.

“What are you hiding?” Baekhyun asked curiously, waiting for Chanyeol to answer his question.

The taller man kept a poker face before putting the paper flat on the table, fingers sliding to each corner of the paper to straighten it up, letting Baekhyun see the written notes.

“What is this?” Baekhyun scrutinized the word, his gaze wandering over the page as he read the content over and over. “A list?”

Chanyeol nodded.

“Did you ask the boy to write these?” Baekhyun asked, demanding a clear answer from the man before him. Again, he received a nod. Baekhyun took a deep breath. He nibbled on his lip, licking them slightly as he read the list again, webs of thoughts wandering in his mind

“Why did you do this?”

Chanyeol didn’t know what and how to answer this question. It was a simple one, yet it contained so many emotions. Rubbing the back of his neck, he managed to stutter a reply, but it turned out to be harder than he had expected.  “Baekhyun… sad…”

Chanyeol sighed, knowing that he would never talk properly even if the complete words were just at the tip of his tongue.

The words were vague, but Baekhyun understood what Chanyeol was trying to say. Even in such a small time, he had gotten used to Chanyeol’s lack of speech, or maybe he had just learnt to understand him by heart. He loved how his name sounded beautiful when Chanyeol said it, even if he seemed to be struggling in saying anything.

Baekhyun asked, “How did you know that I wasn’t okay this morning?”

Chanyeol hummed.

“Do you want to spend some time with me today?” Baekhyun asked instead. He couldn’t believe what he said, but he was certain he wanted to follow through on his invitation.

Chanyeol, however, was in shock. Did he hear correctly? Did Baekhyun invite him to spend his day with him? His heart leapt at the invitation, obviously loving it. He wasn’t good at hiding his emotions, because after all, he only had less than twenty-four hours to fulfil his wish. He had to open his heart to everything, to Baekhyun especially.

“Are you okay with that? I can clear off my schedule for today,” Baekhyun said, smiling when he saw a grin on the other’s face. Unfortunately, his heart sank a bit at the mention of his _schedule,_ because he was supposed to have a vocal practice with his friends later, but when he remembered that his mother didn’t allow him in the first place, he shook the thought away, hoping that spending his time with Chanyeol, would help clear his mind.

Chanyeol nodded again, this time a bit quickly. His eyes widened in excitement, anticipating and waiting for Baekhyun to give a positive response. Baekhyun responded with a smile too, and his eyes averted to the list again. Somehow, Chanyeol hoped Baekhyun would like his suggestion because…

“This is so funny!”

The silent café suddenly erupted with Baekhyun’s laughter. He held his stomach, trying to suppress his laughter but failed. A tingling feeling tickled his heart, and he couldn’t stop laughing. Chanyeol’s head jerked back at the unexpected response. A few customers sitting at other tables turned their heads to look at both of them, slightly disturbed because of Baekhyun’s annoying laughter. Chanyeol looked around and stood up, the screeching sound of the chair on the floor loud enough to hurt someone’s ear. He bowed apologetically on behalf of Baekhyun, because he was embarrassed by Baekhyun who just made a fuss about the list. When Baekhyun’s laughter died down, he looked at Chanyeol, casting a sincere smile on his face upon noticing the red tints on the man’s cheeks.

“No, wait, are we going to do all these things?” Baekhyun snorted. His eyes never left Chanyeol, who just sat back down. Chanyeol’s cheeks were still as red as tomatoes, slowly trying to calm down his embarrassment. Nonetheless, he still nodded his head, answering Baekhyun’s question.

“Look,” Baekhyun gestured Chanyeol to come closer, watching as the latter followed his instruction. “Some of the ideas here are too ridiculous and I really mean it. You see, how can we go to the Paris and bring _the real Eiffel Tower_ back to Korea?”

Chanyeol froze.

He didn’t know what the Eiffel Tower was, nor did he have any idea what Baekhyun was talking about. He only asked the boy to come up with any ideas to put in the list of things-to-do-with-Baekhyun, and maybe the boy wrote everything he had in his mind, not realizing that Chanyeol couldn’t understand the written words. If Chanyeol knew what to do, he wouldn’t ask the boy to help him in the first place, and now he was embarrassed of himself. Looking at Baekhyun, he was sure it was something impossible to be done, judging from the way those crinkles lined up between Baekhyun’s eyebrows.

Taking the paper from Baekhyun’s hand, he took a good look at the notes. It took him a moment to try and understand everything, but he _couldn’t._ Squiggling and weird scratches of handwriting were all he could see, written by the young boy he had met earlier. He really wished he could read. He somehow forgot that he was once a portrait to begin with, not a human. How could he possibly learn everything in one day? It was ridiculous.

“You… you can’t read this too?” Baekhyun asked carefully, eyes scanning Chanyeol’s face. He didn’t know whether he had understood correctly or not, but confusion didn’t leave his mind when trying to understand why Chanyeol seemed to be struggling. In the short matter of time, Baekhyun learnt that Chanyeol would occasionally crease his eyebrows and pout when he didn’t like something, one of his more obvious habits.

Chanyeol looked up from the paper and shook his head as an answer. He seemed disappointed as he returned the paper to Baekhyun.

“Oh,” Baekhyun said, realizing he had made the atmosphere awkward. “I’m sorry.”

Chanyeol showed his toothy smile.

Baekhyun eyed him curiously before shifting his eyes to the list once again. He made sure he read everything carefully, inwardly keeping in mind what could be done and what couldn’t. Chanyeol noticed that the man in front of him was smiling at times, though he wasn’t sure of what reason.

“Some of the ideas here can be done,” Baekhyun prompted. “But some of them are just too ridiculous to do, to be honest. I mean, we can cross-off the impossible ones and just do what’s left, right?”

Chanyeol nodded in return, and he earned a sincere smile from Baekhyun.

“Alright, so I’ll just cross-out the first one, and we’ll do the second one on the list,” Baekhyun chirped as he took out a pen from his duffel bag and crossed the first line on the paper. “Let’s see, the second one here is “take pictures together”. Well, we can do this,” Baekhyun said.

Chanyeol unknowingly clapped his hands together as he giggled. His eyes squinted as he laughed, and Baekhyun swore he had never seen such a beautiful smile from anyone before. He looked like a kid who had just been given ice cream by his mother. For someone like Chanyeol, he should’ve acted according to his age, but Baekhyun found it endearing.

“Why are you so happy?” Baekhyun asked, though he knew he didn’t need an answer to that.

Chanyeol beamed.

_I am happy because I finally get to spend some time with you._

A part of Chanyeol wished Baekhyun could hear his inner voice. Disappointment eventually clutched at his heart when he saw Baekhyun clearly didn’t expect an answer in return. He simply just didn’t care because he knew Chanyeol would never talk properly in front of him.

Baekhyun wouldn’t know.

  
  


 

 

After they both had left the café, Baekhyun asked Chanyeol to follow him to his college. It was minutes after that they finally reached their destination. The college, Chanyeol noticed, was half empty by the time they both arrived on campus. The rustling of leaves and the sounds of robins singing accompanied the pair as they walked towards the huge building. The scenery was nice; Baekhyun couldn’t remember the last time he felt so happy walking to college with someone.

Not liking the quietness, Baekhyun suddenly coughed a little.

“Are you okay following me to my college?”

Chanyeol’s head jerked up upon hearing Baekhyun’s voice. “Where?” His voice was still soft and low, like a diamond was kept inside his mouth, preventing him from talking any louder.

“Are you okay? College?” Baekhyun repeated. He tilted his head at the same time, two fingers tracing a line on his palm as he mimicked the motion of a walking person. He knew he sounded so stupid for talking like that, but assuming Chanyeol was a little slow at understanding, he thought that would be the best way. He coughed again before taking out a piece of paper from his duffel bag. “I need to return this score to my teacher.”

Chanyeol took a brief look at the score notes, but he only saw weird handwriting styles different from the one he read in the menu and the list earlier. He didn’t reply. Instead, he looked down at his feet, watching how the dirt collected on his shoes as he walked across the dusty road. Every now and again, he would kick the stones he found on the road and smile fondly, only to receive a weird look from Baekhyun, which the taller male didn’t notice.

It took them roughly fifteen minutes to finally reach their destination. When they both arrived at Baekhyun’s classroom, Chanyeol believed, the expression on the former’s face changed. His face wasn’t bright like before; his mouth had curled into a pout and his eyebrows furrowed in disturbance. Chanyeol wanted to ask what was wrong, but he kept the question to himself when Baekhyun walked ahead of him, gripping the score tightly in his hands.

Chanyeol walked behind him, and saw the way Baekhyun’s shoulders slumped a bit, breath hitched. Something was bothering Baekhyun, and Chanyeol could sense it. Striding closer to the shorter male, he held Baekhyun by the arm, though he was hesitant at first. Baekhyun, who was surprised by the sudden contact, turned his head to the right.

Chanyeol’s face lit up with a smile.

It was as if he was trying to calm down Baekhyun, or even cheer him up. No words needed, only shared glances.

There was a faint sound of someone singing in one of the rooms near the hallway, distracting them for a moment. Chanyeol found it soothing, and he swore he felt his legs dancing to the singing voice, following the rhythm. The closer they got to the practice room, the louder the voice was. Baekhyun clearly noticed how Chanyeol’s eyes fluttered closed as he listened to the sweet voice.

“Do you like this song?”

Chanyeol’s eyes snapped open before nodding his head in response. Soon, the pair reached the practice room, where voices of people instructing and singing could be heard.

“Well, let’s see if my lecturer is in there,” Baekhyun said and pushed the door open. He didn’t want to, but he had to. Chanyeol followed him from behind, unsure if he should enter the unfamiliar place.

In the room, four teenagers were standing in a line, while a middle-aged man was instructing in front, holding a music score similar to Baekhyun’s.

“Baekhyun!”

“Hey, Jongdae.” There was a bitter taste in Baekhyun’s mouth and he hated it. He saw his friends turn their heads towards both of them, and Baekhyun saw how Kyungsoo’s face changed upon realizing his appearance in the room. The male kept his head down, avoiding Baekhyun’s gaze. Baekhyun smiled bitterly. _You are pathetic, Byun Baek,_ Baekhyun thought to himself.

“Baekhyun, what are you doing here?” his teacher’s voice echoed through the practice room.

The air stiffened, and silence enveloped the group as Baekhyun took slow steps towards the middle-aged man. The mustache on his face made him look fiercer and unfriendly, but Baekhyun was used to that kind of stare and expression. His teacher was a kind person, who would always help him improve his singing, listen to his problems and be a shoulder to cry on. But today, he knew his teacher couldn’t help solve his problem, even if there was a way to get rid of it.

“Sir, I’m sorry for interrupting your class. I just wanted to return the score you gave me the other day. I… I shouldn’t keep this anymore.”

Head hung low, Baekhyun handed the score over to his teacher, waiting for a response from the elder.

A sigh was heard. “You know you can send it back to me some other time. You do know that you can’t just barge in here without my permission? This room is for the participants of the competition only.”

Baekhyun bit his lips. If he wasn’t aware that everyone was looking at him, he probably would’ve bitten his lips until they bled.

“I know, Sir.”

The score exchanged hands, and Baekhyun saw how his teacher took his time to take a brief look at the score notes before he placed it on the piano.

“Your mom called me just now,” the older male explained. “I’m sorry but you can’t participate in the competition without your guardian’s permission.”

“I know.”

He obviously knew.

  
  
  


 

Baekhyun didn’t really remember how he ended up crying in front of Chanyeol after they had both left the practice room. He just let his feet bring him anywhere. Maybe they were still in the neighborhood; or maybe they were somewhere in the busy city. The moment Baekhyun lifted his head up, he found a pair of eyes stare into his, trying to decipher his emotions.

“What?”

Chanyeol pointed his finger at his own eyes, trying to tell Baekhyun something. “Don't…”

Baekhyun blinked several times, failing to realize that there were tears in his eyes. He was about to ask Chanyeol something when he felt a thumb caress his cheek, wiping away the tears. Chanyeol’s fingers were cold and trembling.

“Don’t cry…”

Baekhyun’s lips curled into a small smile before he nodded. “Alright, I’ll stop crying.”

And again, he found himself being snuggled up into a warm embrace, and this time around, he didn’t push Chanyeol away.

  
  
  


 

The sun had settled high in the sky, too bright and too hot, leaving two people huffing tiredly as they ran across the busy street. Baekhyun decided to show Chanyeol around the town, since the man seemed a bit lost when he was exposed to it. At times, their shoulders bumped against each other as they walked in and out from one shop to the next, and Baekhyun had to keep a certain distance between him and Chanyeol. Whenever they found something interesting to eat or watch on the streets, they would stop walking, and just laugh with each other, preserving the moments of them being together. _Once in a lifetime,_ Chanyeol thought. Even though Baekhyun wasn’t really into trying things from the street because he found it a little too childish, everything seemed endearing when he was with Chanyeol.

As they made their way around the corner of a building, their eyes caught a glimpse of a figure sitting down on small stool just a few meters away from them. It was a small figure of an old man, and he was painting something on a white canvas. Scooting closer, they noticed that the old man had already finished painting some pictures. The canvases were propped up carefully against the wall and most of them were realistic portraits of people.

Something struck in Baekhyun’s mind, and a smile grew on his face.

“Chanyeol, do you want to try something?”

The taller man looked at Baekhyun, seemingly puzzled.

“Come, follow me,” Baekhyun pulled Chanyeol’s hand and they strode closer to the painter.

“Ahjussi.”

Baekhyun called out for the old man after a few seconds of hesitation. Chanyeol was staring at him straight in the face, inwardly asking the other whether they were allowed to ask anything of the old man.

The old man’s hand stopped moving. He was in the middle of finishing the last stroke on the canvas. Taking his time, he pulled the paint brush away, resting it casually between his wrinkled yet pointy fingers. He looked at the young man, who was now squatting beside him. The old man didn’t sense his presence before, but he didn’t feel surprised with the sudden appearance of the latter. He then looked up, noticing the other young man was standing awkwardly behind his friend.

To Baekhyun, the smell of the new canvases was invigorating, bridging the gap of time between childhood memory and present day indulgence, causing him to scoot closer unconsciously.

“Yes?”

The old man sounded friendly, as if he would do anything for the man beside him. He flashed a warm smile to the younger, a small wave of hope hitting Baekhyun.

“Is it possible if I ask you to draw a portrait of him?” Baekhyun asked, glancing at Chanyeol and the painter alternately. “I’ll pay for it,” he added, focusing his eyes on the man’s face and his equipment on the pavement.

The painter took some time to answer Baekhyun’s question, but soon the wrinkles on his face grew larger as his smile went wide. “It’s my pleasure, young man.”

He asked Chanyeol to sit on a bench while he prepared a new palette and canvas to start the portrait. But as Baekhyun was about to step aside and stand behind Chanyeol, he was startled when he felt a sudden touch on his hand. Chanyeol was looking at him with an unreadable expression. Baekhyun was never good at reading a person’s face or mind. He wished he could read Chanyeol’s mind, and understand what the man had been thinking about during the time they had spent together.

_‘Together,’_ Chanyeol mouthed.

For a second, there was complete silence. The people walking around the pavement seemed to fade away into the midst of unknown imagery and Baekhyun could only see him and Chanyeol, together holding hands, fingers intertwined. Baekhyun didn’t pull away. Instead, he stepped closer and sat beside the other male. Shoulders grazed, heartbeats quickened and minds further blurred. Baekhyun felt everything in that one moment.

Baekhyun turned his head to look at Chanyeol, who had been staring at him with hopeful eyes. “T-Together, okay?” the taller repeated quietly, using his voice to try and show his emotions.

In the end, Baekhyun nodded, still partly confused. “Uh, okay.”

The painter smiled the entire time as the young men made up their minds, unsure of what to do. “Move closer,” he suggested as he put his palette aside. “You would look great together like that.”

Baekhyun once again felt a large hand wrapping around his shoulders and he was pulled even closer. He gulped down, awkwardly straightening his body and straining his neck a bit. That position didn’t last for long, when once again, he found Chanyeol lacing their fingers together. He pressed his lips together, unsure of what was going on. His heart beat in excitement, _or was it something other than that?_ Baekhyun had no answer to that question. Instead, he focused on the painter’s face as he watched the way the brush moved gracefully across the canvas, trailing red and yellow paint.

Seconds passed by, and not even once did Baekhyun turn his head to the side. He was completely static in his place, like he was cursed into a stone.

And not even once did he realize that Chanyeol had been looking at him the entire time, internally questioning whether it was the right decision to sacrifice his life, just help improve Baekhyun’s day.

For the first time in his human life, he doubted his decision. He couldn’t deny the fact that his day brightened too whenever he saw the smile on Baekhyun’s face. But he now realized that one day wasn’t enough. He needed more. He needed forever.

For the first time in his human life, he regretted his abrupt decision; regretted making the decision without thinking about the consequences of sacrificing his life just for a man who didn’t even remember him. He thought that he should’ve just stayed in the portrait, keeping everything pent up inside him until Baekhyun found him in the attic some other time, maybe in years’ time when Baekhyun finally remembered his existence.

For the first time in his human life, he wished for a lifetime with Baekhyun, but maybe he was already too late to turn back the time.

He was too late for everything, as he knew his clock was ticking to the time when his hope would crumble and his life would end. He knew he had made a huge mistake when he heard a soft whisper in his ear telling him that _he had silently fallen in love with Byun Baekhyun._

And for a while, Chanyeol couldn’t work out what was real and what was a dream. Being with Baekhyun, he had a strange feeling that even if he wished for something impossible, it could possibly still be granted.


	4. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol only had 24 hours when he was given a chance. Baekhyun wanted forever when everything was too late.

_When you lose someone,_

_you tried to remember the last time you saw them._

_And most of the time it’s a blurry memory because at that time,_

_you had no idea it would be the last._

 

It was indeed funny and weird how Baekhyun easily grew comfort around Chanyeol, given the circumstances that they only knew each other that morning. He didn’t feel awkward talking to Chanyeol after observing the way that tall male would respond every time he was asked a question, although most of the times Baekhyun was the only one initiating and continuing to talk. Chanyeol would always answer him with short answers along with a sheepish grin, and at times, the man would be caught stealing glances at him; Baekhyun had to pretend he didn’t notice anything.

The portrait they got for free earlier was held by Chanyeol. He kept it safe against his chest, holding it so tight until his hands went red. Baekhyun wanted to hold it too, but he was shooed away the moment he landed his hand on the frame. It didn’t take Baekhyun long to realize that every time he asked to hold it, Chanyeol would give a long stare in exchange, his eyebrows furrowed a bit. In the end, Baekhyun didn’t say anything about the portrait.

“What do we have on the next list?” Baekhyun asked when both of them were waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

Chanyeol was fumbling through the pocket, and the crumpled paper was in sight. He was busy juggling between holding a portrait in his left hand as the other hand was busy unfolding the paper. Baekhyun threw him a look, but Chanyeol kept a fair distance between them so that Baekhyun won’t be able to get a hold of the portrait.

Chanyeol scrutinized the list, forgetting that he should let the shorter male to read it. After a few while, he awkwardly gave the paper to Baekhyun, who was grinning when he saw the taller man’s abashed expression.

“Write your name in the sand?” Baekhyun read the list. He fell silent, and an exasperated sigh escaped his lips. “Now where do we find a beach in the middle of this city?” He questioned himself, not even realizing that Chanyeol was getting confused with what the petite male had said.

“B-Beach?”

Baekhyun’s eyes went wide. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what a beach is.”

The smaller male didn’t expect that he would see Chanyeol shake his head in response.

“Beach is… uhm...” Baekhyun bit his finger, unsure of what to say. “You know what a sea is?”

There was an awkward silence enveloped. Chanyeol shook his head once more.

Baekhyun sighed unknowingly. Chanyeol looked disturb, but Baekhyun assured the male that it was fine. “Uhm, sea is like… a large area of water surrounded by land. Do I need to give you an example too?”

He received a nod in response. Baekhyun laughed in disbelief.

“Can’t you get any cuter than this?” He said, failing to realize that he just complimented the taller male. And of course Chanyeol knew what Baekhyun meant by that. He wasn’t too dumb, but after hearing it, he smiled widely.

“Baekhyun… cute too…” Chanyeol said.

Baekhyun was gnawing on his lower lip. Deep inside his heart, he was beyond delighted. Even though he’d heard a lot from his friends, saying that he was such a cute boy with a puppy face, he didn’t know why he would blush when it came from Chanyeol himself.

“T-Thank you.” Baekhyun thanked him and focused on the list again. “Star gazing?”

Chanyeol moved closer, eyes glancing up and down to search for the sentence. He kept furrowing his brows and biting his lips, but confusion was filling up his mind. It was like trying to solve a puzzle, he was too dumb to realize that one piece had lost from the box, making it hard to complete the puzzle itself. Chanyeol didn’t understand anything. He would never understand anything written on the list.

Noting that Chanyeol knew nothing about stargazing, a smile appeared on Baekhyun’s face. “It’s okay. We can go stargazing tonight. Are you free for tonight though?”

Chanyeol nodded his head frantically, excited of what was coming.

The next moment, Baekhyun quickly picked up his phone when it suddenly buzzed, and his mom’s name appeared on the screen.

“Yes, Mom?” Baekhyun’s tone was almost emotionless. Chanyeol kept quiet beside him.

“Hm, alright,” Baekhyun said before he kept his phone inside his pocket again. He turned to look at Chanyeol. “It’s my mom.”

Chanyeol didn’t say anything.

They were about to cross the road when Baekhyun suddenly exclaimed, stopping both of them from walking any further. “Wait! I forgot to do something!”

Chanyeol eyed him questioningly. Baekhyun blinked his eyes several times, flashing an innocent expression in front of Chanyeol. The shorter male looked at his watch, counting something in his head before he held Chanyeol’s hand, holding it gently.

“We still got time,” Baekhyun said. “Let’s go to that shop,” Baekhyun said as his finger pointed at a boutique shop in front of them. Chanyeol followed him from behind without saying anything.

“Why?” Chanyeol asked, yearning for an explanation from the petite male.

“I need to buy a present for a friend of mine,” Baekhyun said. “He returned to Korea today. I need to buy him something.”

“A f-friend?”

“Yes. A friend.”

Something was weird judging from the tone of Baekhyun’s voice, but Chanyeol let it slide.

  
  
  


 

It almost reached ten when Baekhyun and Chanyeol arrived at Sehun’s house. Baekhyun paid for the taxi fare and asked Chanyeol to step out of the taxi first. Chanyeol did as what he was told without asking anything. He closed the door and turned, only to find a big house standing proudly in front of him. It was quite big for the latter’s liking, so he found it rather uncomfortable to be in such a place. Even so, Baekhyun’s gaze at him made him feel calmer and safer.

They both went inside the area of the house since the gate was unlocked. The sound of crickets filled in the quietness around them but it soon faded away when they arrived closer at the garden behind the house, the sound of people chattering and laughing took over. Chanyeol darted his eyes around, noticing there were noises coming from the backyard. When they arrived closer, Chanyeol realized there were many people around Baekhyun’s age, so he assumed they were Baekhyun’s friends.

“They’re my friends. I hope you don’t really mind though,” Baekhyun said after a few seconds being in silence, as if he could read Chanyeol’s mind. Chanyeol gave him a stiff look, but was ignored by Baekhyun seconds later when there was a tall, blond-haired man wearing a black sweater walking towards them.

Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed, because he didn’t know who that man was. When he turned to look at Baekhyun, the male was blushing and smiling sheepishly. Chanyeol’s eyes darted to look back at the tall man, only to realize that the person had abruptly hugged Baekhyun with no hesitation.

_Baekhyun hugged him back too._

A small voice whispered into Chanyeol’s ear, telling him to push that man away from Baekhyun. He would do it actually, even if no one told him to do so. Unfortunately, he knew he had no rights to do that.

“I missed you, baby,” the man cooed as he kissed Baekhyun on the lips.

“Stop it, Yifan,” Baekhyun pouted. “Here, a present for you. Welcome home.” He handed a box wrapped in striped wrapping paper. The man accepted it gladly and smiled endearingly.

Baekhyun was still blushing, because it had been quite some time since someone kissed him in public. He actually had no problem with that. Being Yifan’s boyfriend taught him that he had to be confident in everything he did. So, that was why he didn’t let Sehun tell anything about the competition to Yifan. Baekhyun didn’t want to be laughed at, because the male never liked it when he lost his confidence, especially in when it came to singing.

On the other side, Chanyeol saw it all. He saw them kissing, laughing and giggling but he didn’t bother to step away because heck, he was so stupid to understand the definition of jealousy. He tried to focus his eyes on the loud crowds, but all he heard was Baekhyun’s hushed voice.

When Chanyeol turned to look at them again, he noticed the unknown man brought Baekhyun’s body closer to deepen the kiss, but the shorter man was fast enough to push the man’s body away a bit. “Enough Yifan. There’s another person here,” Baekhyun said sheepishly, and he was already blushing.

Pulling away, the man named Yifan stared into Baekhyun’s eyes, grinning like a kid. “I’ll teach you how to get used to this later,” he said before diverting his stare into Chanyeol’s big, surprising eyes. “Oh, who do we have here? Your cousin?” the man said, scanning Chanyeol’s face. “Wait, he doesn’t look like you at all,” he added, a smile curved up his lips.

Baekhyun chuckled a little, earning a questioning look from the blond-haired man. He stood beside the taller, and gave him a light slap on the chest. “He’s not my cousin, you stupid. He’s my friend, Chanyeol. And Chanyeol—” Baekhyun introduced, his eyes fixed on Chanyeol’s face before continued, “—this is Yifan.”

Chanyeol realized how Baekhyun’s cheek flush with pink when Yifan’ name was mentioned. He blinked his eyes awkwardly, trying to fight the sudden urge to cry and scream because _he should be the one standing and hugging Baekhyun, not that Yifan guy._

Sadly, Chanyeol couldn’t retaliate nor say anything because he was in no position to do so.

Bowing his body a bit, Yifan proffered a handshake to Chanyeol, only to receive a slight grunt from the latter. Chanyeol stole another glance at Baekhyun, who was smiling innocently at him. Annoyed, Chanyeol slid past them, leaving the two in confusion as their eyes followed him.

“Did I do anything wrong?”

Baekhyun shrugged and shook his head, telling Yifan he didn’t know the answer to it. His eyes trained to Chanyeol who was now walking towards the crowds.

“I-I have to go to him first,” Baekhyun said, but Yifan was fast to give his boyfriend a quick peck on the lips. Baekhyun groaned, but Yifan just laughed and walked away, leaving him alone with Chanyeol.

“Chanyeol?” The shorter male called out.

There was no reply, but Chanyeol stopped walking, as if he was waiting for Baekhyun to continue talking.

Baekhyun heaved a sigh. “Chanyeol, what’s wrong?” Baekhyun asked worriedly. He didn’t like the sudden change in Chanyeol’s face. He wanted to make him happy truthfully, for Chanyeol had made his day brighter, even though they just met.

Baekhyun finally noticed the intent gaze Chanyeol gave him. He brought his head down, feeling a bit guilty.

“Y-Yifan,” Chanyeol said with difficulty.

“What’s wrong with him? Did he do something wrong?” Baekhyun asked. “If you’re not comfortable with what you saw just now, I do apologize on his behalf. I know it was an awkward sight to you, actually,” Baekhyun apologized quickly.

Chanyeol shook his head frantically. His hand was fluttering and rubbing his neck, a bit confused of his feeling at that moment. Was it anger? Was it disappointment? Was it jealousy? Chanyeol didn’t have the answers to any of them.

“I don’t… like him.”

There, he finally said it.

Chanyeol didn’t like how Baekhyun was all happy and bubbly when Yifan hugged him, but acted differently when they hugged earlier before in the morning. Maybe because Chanyeol was a stranger to Baekhyun and Yifan was not. Chanyeol suddenly realized that he once again had no choice but to accept the fact he couldn’t control Baekhyun’s life the way he wanted it to be. Baekhyun was already a grown up boy. Not the same kid who would drool carelessly while playing with his toys alone, not the same kid who would cry when no one was there by his side every time he woke up from his sleep.

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol and finally held his big hands. The smaller male looked a bit guilty to tell the truth, but Chanyeol needed to know.

“Yifan… he is actually my boyfriend.”

Chanyeol frowned. He knew. Of course he knew about that. He clearly noticed the obvious change on Baekhyun’s face when Yifan kissed him, and the thing that concerned him the most was Baekhyun actually _kissed_ the man back.

Again, Chanyeol knew he had no rights to do anything. It disappointingly hurt, but nothing could be done anyway.

Chanyeol waved Baekhyun off as he walked towards the open gate, deciding to leave the house. He shouldn’t actually be here. He _didn’t want_ to be here.

“Chanyeol, wait!” Baekhyun called out for his name and pulled his hand instantly, preventing the said man from taking any few steps further. “Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked.

_I am not okay._

Chanyeol didn’t respond and Baekhyun automatically heaved a sigh.

“I-I’ll show you around. You said you are Sehun’s friend, right? He’s right here too,” he told Chanyeol, even though he was worried Chanyeol might be uncomfortable being surrounded by his friends. His face lighted up in happiness when he saw Chanyeol nod his head.

Chanyeol had no other options. He followed Baekhyun from behind, who was pulling his hand to a crowd of people in the garden. Of all people there, some were laughing and talking to one another, some were busy eating the food on their plates, and some were sitting in their chairs, glancing around.

“Sehun, I brought someone with me!” Baekhyun chirped once he pulled Chanyeol closer to a man wearing a snapback. The said man, who was laughing with his friends, turned his head briefly at both of them. He looked undisturbed at all. He was holding a glass of tequila, and instantly tossed it to his friend.

Sehun smiled and opened up his arms wide to hug Baekhyun.

Again, Chanyeol was taken aback with Sehun’s action. He didn’t like how Baekhyun easily agreed to be hugged by random people.

With a stoic expression written all over his face, Sehun turned to look at Chanyeol. Chanyeol realized the man in front of him had a handsome face and a fair skin too, and he had to admit that Sehun was better than that Yifan guy.

“You guys knew each other already, right?” Baekhyun asked, standing in between them.

Sehun looked at Baekhyun, and his eyes shifted to look at Chanyeol, who seemed a bit uncomfortable with the current situation.

Grinning, Sehun said, “Of course, we’re best friends actually.” He sent a sharp gaze to Chanyeol, who didn’t notice it.

Widening his eyes, Baekhyun faced Chanyeol. “Really? You didn’t tell me before, Chanyeol.”

Like always, Chanyeol would stay away from talking. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk, but it hurt every time he tried to say something; both literally and figuratively. Choosing to stay silent was the best option he had.

“Baekhyun!” Someone called for Baekhyun’s name, earning the said man to turn his head away to look at the crowd. A friend of his, Chanyeol believed, was waving his hand at them, asking Baekhyun to come over.

“Uh, you guys talk, okay? I need to see Junmyeon first,” Baekhyun beamed as he patted Sehun’s shoulder. Sehun nodded and smiled, but as soon as Baekhyun walked away from them, his smile dimming.

“Come, follow me,” Sehun said monotonously and walked to a darker side of the garden, where the lamppost wasn’t switched on purposely. Chanyeol innocently followed him from behind, wondering where were they were heading to and having no idea what Sehun was up to.

As they arrived at a certain area near the gate, Chanyeol was pushed against the wall unexpectedly. Sehun trapped the tall man in between his arms, and had his eyes scanned all over Chanyeol’s face, trying to remember the dazed face before him. When he looked right into Chanyeol’s trembling eyes, Sehun was definitely sure he never knew that man.

“Who are you?”

Chanyeol looked at the man, aghast. He stayed silent when he sensed the unfriendliness in the tone, and something told him he needed to stay away from Sehun.

“C-Chanyeol.”

“Who _are_ you?” Anger flamed in Sehun. He started to feel annoyed when he saw the innocent expression on Chanyeol’s face. When Chanyeol didn’t give any response in return, Sehun almost lost his control.

“We obviously don’t know each other. I never saw you in my college or anything. So why did you tell Baekhyun that I’m your friend?”

Chanyeol gulped down. Now, he knew the reason behind Sehun’s anger. His eyes sneaked to look for a way to escape from Sehun, but he was trapped in between Sehun’s hands that were put against the wall. He obviously couldn’t run anywhere, unless he pushed Sehun away. That was the only option left.

He moved his feet, trying not to be noticed by Sehun, but the latter was faster than him. His eyes darted to look at Chanyeol’s feet, and he brought his head up angrily. He even flared up at the slightest movement Chanyeol made. He couldn’t believe the taller man before him showed no sign of fear, though it was what he had been expecting from Chanyeol; to be scared of him.

“B-Baekhyun…”

Chanyeol struggled to say something, but it was hard when suddenly Sehun choked him on his collar harshly. He had the strength to fight back, but he chose not to do it as he didn’t know what wrong he had done to Sehun.

“What do you want from Baekhyun?” Sehun spoke through gritted teeth.

Chanyeol shook his head vigorously.

“It’s obvious you want something from Baekhyun,” Sehun guessed. Leaning in closer, he whispered, “Listen, Baekhyun is _Yifan’s,_ and you have no chance to take him away from Yifan, you understand that?”

Chanyeol had no choice but to nod. Satisfied with the response, Sehun nodded while releasing Chanyeol’s collar from his tight grip.

“I don’t know what you are up to, but you better stay away from him before anything gets any worse,” Sehun gave a smirk, knowing he had frightened the unknown man.

Chanyeol already knew things had already gotten worse when he decided to step into the human world. He had no much time left to be with Baekhyun. He knew things weren’t not really in his favor when Baekhyun already got friends he could rely on. And for the first time ever, Chanyeol regretted turning into a human. Sehun didn’t need to ask him to stay away from Baekhyun anyway. He would stay away anyway when the time came. He didn’t need to be reminded twice.

  
  
  


 

It was almost an hour later when Baekhyun noticed Chanyeol wasn’t there with him. Baekhyun set his glass aside and wandered around the area. He saw a group of people talking to one another cheerfully, but Baekhyun doubted it, whether Chanyeol would be in that group too.

Padding closer, he saw Sehun laughing with one of their friends in the group. Sehun, upon noticing Baekhyun’s presence, stopped laughing.

“What is it, Baek?” Sehun asked. His grip on the glass tightened as he saw the worriedness in Baekhyun’s expression.

Baekhyun shook his head. “Chanyeol… have you seen him anywhere?”

Sehun tried to cover his expression when he heard the question. He didn’t know where Chanyeol was too. He guessed if the latter wasn’t there, maybe he had gone because of him.

“I-I don’t know,” Sehun stuttered, but Baekhyun didn’t realize it. He was terribly worried, because Chanyeol knew no one except him and Sehun. He might get lost. Baekhyun looked to the left and right, but Chanyeol was nowhere to be seen.

“Wasn’t he with you earlier, Sehun? Chanyeol… that tall lad—ouch!” Luhan, the red-haired man screamed when Sehun kicked him in the shin. Sehun eyed Luhan dangerously, secretly telling the latter to shut his mouth up. Baekhyun, who was surprised upon hearing Luhan’s scream, stared at both of the young men alternately, but Sehun just showed him his signature smile.

“Where is he, Sehun?” Baekhyun repeated the question.

Sehun widened his eyes. He nibbled on his lips, feared of getting caught by his friend. However, he still put his act on by saying, “I think he left.”

It didn’t take Baekhyun long to respond to his remark. “He left?” His lips parted in surprise, partly disappointed.

Sehun nodded. “He said something about grocery and stuff, maybe he had gone back to his house.”

He suddenly felt regret for lying to his dear friend, but he had no choice.

“Did he tell you that?”

Sehun pursed his lips. “Maybe. Why don’t you call him?” Sehun forced himself to say the words, although he didn’t intend to do it at all. He was still irritated with Chanyeol, and he wondered what the strange man wanted from Baekhyun. Sehun wanted to tell the truth to his friend, that he wasn’t Chanyeol’s friend, nor that he knew him before. But, it was as if something got a hold of his tongue and prevented him from telling the truth to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun sighed in desperation. “He doesn’t own any cellphones as far as I knew,” he said. “I need to go find him.”

“Wait, Baekhyun!” Sehun stopped the shorter male, eyes faltering as Baekhyun returned the stare. “Yifan has been waiting for you since he arrived here. You should spend some time with him more.”

Baekhyun halted. “Well… I’ll go tell him first,” Baekhyun said.

    

  
  


 

The night was unusually quiet, and there were stars scattering all over the sky. It was the night where the rain was about to pour down and moon was hiding somewhere, not even behind the clouds. The park was empty with not even a single soul was seen walking around the area, but Chanyeol had chosen to sit there, gazing at the night sky, counting his time to arrive.

He wondered how long had it been since he turned into a human, but he was sure that it was almost the time he’d leave soon. A sudden pain tugged at his heart, because he wasn’t sure if he was ready for this; _to leave the world and Baekhyun._

He knew he made a stupid and rash decision, but he still remembered what Mr. Byun had told him. He knew the man knew he understood everything. That brought the reason of why he always talked to Chanyeol when nights approached. Sadly, if Mr. Byun was still alive, he surely wouldn’t be doing this, risking his life just to make someone— _Baekhyun—_ to be happy again.

  
  
  


 

_“Chanyeol…”_

_Yes?_

_“Have I told you that I didn’t dream of you, only?”_

_What?_

_“There… there’s another person I always dream of, but I’m afraid of him.”_

_Mr. Byun, are you okay? Why are you afraid of him?_

_The painter took a few deep breaths. His eyes fluttered closed and he seemed so helpless. Chanyeol had to watch him curiously, wondering what did exactly happen to the man. “He… he threatened to kill me if I didn’t draw his face. I-I didn’t understand what he meant by that,” the man sobbed. His face was wet with tears, nose filled up with mucus as he tried to talk, forming every sentence one by one so that it could be heard clearly; even though he was talking to no one but a portrait who couldn’t talk._

_Chanyeol didn’t reply this time around. He waited for the man to continue speaking and tell him everything he wanted to, if that soothed him. However, all Chanyeol could see was a hint of frightened feeling glooming over the man who was kneeling on the floor, heads kept down. Nervous beads appeared on Mr. Byun’s forehead, and Chanyeol hoped he would kill whoever threatened the man. He could only watch from inside the portrait, silently praying that God would save Mr. Byun from any danger that might get in his way._

_He knew his prayer was left unanswered when he heard Mrs. Byun’s hysterical screams and Baekhyun’s cries the next morning._

  
  
  


 

“Chanyeol! What are you doing here?” A voice called out, disrupting his thoughts.

Chanyeol flinched. He was surprised to see Baekhyun right before him, huffing and panting. The man was fanning himself with his own shirt, cooling off his body. Chanyeol, who was lying on the grass quickly stood up, cleaning the dirt off his pants and his coat before smiling.

_I was waiting for you to come._

“Why didn’t you go home?” Baekhyun asked. It was weird seeing Chanyeol lying on the grass, eyes looking up the sky for a good few minutes. Baekhyun had been hiding behind a car, studying Chanyeol’s face as the latter made expressions with his face.

Chanyeol left a long silence.

Baekhyun heaved a sigh. He was expecting for something that wouldn’t happen. Silly. Of course Chanyeol wouldn’t answer his question. He couldn’t even talk properly. Or perhaps he could, but Baekhyun hadn’t heard a complete sentence coming out of the tall man’s mouth. Maybe Chanyeol wasn’t used talking to someone comfortably.

Chanyeol shivered, tightening the jacket that was covering his body, and Baekhyun was aware of that. The portrait they got earlier was laid carefully beside the tall man on the grass. That was when something hit Baekhyun; Chanyeol was looking at the stars.

“Were you stargazing just now?”

“You forgot, and I c-came here… a-alone.”

Baekhyun’s heart almost broke at the words.

“I’m truly sorry. Yifan came and I couldn’t leave the party because—” Baekhyun sighed. He seemed speechless. “But then I noticed that you weren’t there and I was really worried about you. I thought you’ve already left for your house. We have yet spent our time together to the fullest. Though it’s supposed to be weird, because it’s our first time meeting each other. But you’re just… different.”

Chanyeol kept his eyes on Baekhyun’s face, heart swelling when he processed each one of the words said.

“It’s okay,” was all Chanyeol could say. He wanted to talk more, but he seemed so tired. As if it would leave him drained if he talked.

“It’s freezing out here, do you even realize that?” Baekhyun sighed again. “You must be cold. Come here.” He took off his sweater and slung it over Chanyeol’s shoulders.

Warmness covered Chanyeol’s body, and Baekhyun was glad when he didn’t shiver anymore.

“B-Baekhyun?”

“It’s okay. I’m a tough weed,” Baekhyun grinned.

Without realizing, Baekhyun slipped his hands into Chanyeol’s rough hands, causing the latter to gasp. It felt warm when their fingers brushed together. Somehow, in the deepest part of his heart, Chanyeol prayed that the time would stop. He hoped that God would listen to his prayers just like what He did when Baekhyun wasn’t born yet.

“Let’s go inside. We can see the stars clearly.”

Although Chanyeol was confused, he just followed Baekhyun’s lead. He picked up the portrait and rested it against his chest. He could hear his heart beating vigorously as he counted the steps they both took. His right hand was rested in Baekhyun’s warm ones, and they both headed inside Baekhyun’s house. “Mom isn’t here at the moment since she sleeps at her friend’s house today. Didn’t I tell you she joined a community event in Anyang today?” Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol put aside Baekhyun’s sweater on the couch and the smaller male gestured for Chanyeol to sit. Turning on the heater in the living room, he looked at Chanyeol. Chanyeol shook his head as an answer.

“Didn’t I tell you that?” Baekhyun asked. Chanyeol shook his head. Baekhyun coughed and added, “Well, I must have forgotten about it. Um, I’ll fix you warm tea first.”

Right after then, Baekhyun walked away and left Chanyeol alone in the living room.

Chanyeol took a brief look over the pictures on the wall. He noticed there were no paintings left in the living room, which Chanyeol guessed maybe Mrs. Byun had really kept everything inside the attic. He stood up from the couch, walking over to a small desk by the couch. There was a small frame on the desk and he grabbed it; inside it was a photograph of a couple, which he recognized to be the Byun couple.

“They’re my parents. Have I told you that my father was once a famous painter?”

Chanyeol turned and faced Baekhyun. The latter was holding a cup in his hand, slightly creasing his eyebrows because it was hot. When Chanyeol managed to cool down the tea, it was when he noticed a tear escaping from Baekhyun’s eyes as he brought up his face.

_You don’t have to tell me about him if you don’t want to, Baekhyun._

“Oh, maybe I haven’t told you about him.”

Even though Chanyeol knew everything right from the start, he kept shaking his head, indicating he hadn’t heard of it yet.

Baekhyun hummed. “He was a great dad, a talented painter and an understanding man, I must say. As far as I know, Mom never told me any bad thing about him. He… uhm, well… he was gone when I was five. So I barely remembered how he actually looked like because… I was still small back then. It was too early to know the definition of death and depression though,” he said it like he had practiced the lines for thousandth times already. There wasn’t any change of expression on his face as he reminisced the tragic memory, so Chanyeol didn’t know what to assume. He sat there quietly beside Baekhyun, holding the hot cup like it was nothing to him, because Baekhyun’s feelings mattered to him the most now.

_I remembered it well, Baekhyun._

“Drink your tea quickly. It might get cold,” Baekhyun sent a smile to Chanyeol as he set down the cup on the desk, trying his best to hide his tears. Chanyeol wanted to say something, but before he had a chance to do so, Baekhyun had already taken a few steps away from him. The feeling Chanyeol had at that moment was similar to the one he had when Mrs. Byun left him in the attic years ago. Cold and alone. He didn’t want that to happen again.

“Come, let’s go stargazing,” Baekhyun’s voice was full of hopes and eternity. It was something Chanyeol would like to cherish forever.

The tall man was dragged to a small flight of stairs which led them to the attic in the house, a place Chanyeol was too familiar with. He’d been there before, and the thought that he would go back sitting there all alone once again scared him.

When they both entered the attic, floors creaking beneath their feet, and Baekhyun switched on the lamp. The light was dim, and since it was night, they could barely see anything inside the attic. Dusty air entered Baekhyun’s nostrils, and he coughed lightly as he accidentally inhaled the air. Chanyeol was bending down his body slightly, since the wooden ceiling was too low for him.

Baekhyun walked to the corner of the attic and put the boxes that were in his way aside. Chanyeol got closer to the smaller male, noticing there was a ladder leading them to the rooftop. They both said nothing as Baekhyun climbed up the ladder and lifted the latch, and the sky was clear in sight.

Chanyeol smiled upon seeing that. Soon, he followed from behind and climbed too. He saw Baekhyun already taking his spot comfortably, and Chanyeol guessed he always went up there to see the stars. Years ago, he always noticed Baekhyun silently climbing up the ladder, making as minimal noise as possible almost every night. He had always yearned to feel how it was to sit on the rooftop, and he was grateful that he finally got to do it with Baekhyun.

“Be careful,” Baekhyun’s soft voice echoed.

Chanyeol stepped carefully on the slightly slanted roof, eyes watching Baekhyun’s reaction as he walked closer. He finally sat beside Baekhyun, and without any notice, the petite male held his hand, probably wanting him to feel safer.

“The stars are much clearer up here,” Baekhyun muttered. He slowly released Chanyeol’s hand, and the warmness was suddenly gone. Chanyeol sighed unknowingly. He looked up at the sky too, blinking his eyes countless time. It took him about ten minutes for his eyes to get adjusted to the darkness, and then he finally found a star. No, two stars. No, there were thousands of stars up there, adorning the night sky.

“Stars remind me of my dad,” Baekhyun silently whispered and breathed in. His voice almost croaked, but he eventually cleared his throat. “Do you notice the brightest star over there? It’s called Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.” Baekhyun pointed his hand to a star that shone the brightest.

Chanyeol shifted his eyes, recognizing the brightest star on the west. It was twinkling, almost too bright that he didn’t even realize the other stars were also sparkling.

Breathing in the scent of night breeze, Chanyeol almost forgot that his clock was ticking away slowly and eternal life was actually waiting for him in just a few hours. He didn’t realize that he didn’t have much time left as he abruptly hugged Baekhyun, assuring the male that he would always be there for him even when his loved one had left him ever since he was small. It was too sudden, but Baekhyun didn’t budge. They both didn’t notice that Chanyeol’s words were full of beautiful lies.

When Chanyeol finally released Baekhyun from his embrace, the latter didn’t say any words. He was too preoccupied with Chanyeol who got closer and closer to his face as time passed and the next thing he knew, Chanyeol’s trembling lips were on his. They stilled, not even dare to move an inch of their bodies until Chanyeol finally deepened the kiss, pulling Baekhyun in his embrace. Baekhyun’s mind screamed, telling him to stop, but his heart said the otherwise. He wished his body would listen to his brain instead. His heart didn’t know anything. It always made reckless choices and kissing Chanyeol was definitely one of them.

He pushed Chanyeol’s body away, mind finally registering what was exactly happening. Chanyeol was startled, but he managed to maintain his expression, hiding his feelings very well.

“S-Sorry…”

“No. I’m… let’s just pretend it never happened okay?” Baekhyun said, gnawing on his lips. He could still feel Chanyeol’s touch on his lips and his hot breaths against his face. What was he even thinking? What if Yifan knew about this?

The thoughts were shoved away when Chanyeol grabbed Baekhyun’s hand and led to the ladder. He finally decided that everything should be revealed now. Baekhyun should know who he was and why he was there. He needed to remember that he didn’t have much time left. Even though it hurt him so much, he didn’t have a choice. He was the one who chose this path.

“Where are we going?” Baekhyun asked, but he still followed Chanyeol.

Chanyeol gave no reply. When both of them finally stood in the attic once again, the tall man released Baekhyun’s hand and he suddenly rummaged through the boxes behind the black curtains. Baekhyun eyed him curiously, wondering what he was doing. He walked forward to know what Chanyeol was up to, but as Chanyeol turned around, he stopped the male from walking any further. So Baekhyun stood there silently, arms crossing against his chest as he waited for Chanyeol.

_Portrait. My portrait. I need to show Baekhyun my portrait._

The words echoed in Chanyeol’s mind. But he let them buried inside his thoughts, hands busily finding the portrait. He was sure his portrait was there in the attic.

The silence broke when Baekhyun’s phone suddenly rang. Chanyeol almost gasped, and he turned to look at Baekhyun.

“Hello.”

“Are you still there? Do you need me to come to Luhan’s house?”

“Right now?” Baekhyun said, and he finally realized that Chanyeol was giving him a long, pleading stare. When Baekhyun ended the phone call, he finally said. “Chanyeol—”

“D-Don’t go…”

“But what are you trying to do anyway? Why did you rummage through my belongings?” Baekhyun asked. Something wasn’t right, and he could feel it. He tried to remember if he had ever met Chanyeol before, but he didn’t find the answer to his question. The silence was agonizing, like it was screaming so loudly in Chanyeol’s ears.

_Baekhyun, please… remember me…_

“W-Wait,” was what Chanyeol said in return.

Baekhyun gave a long sigh. He kept glancing at his watch, and then at Chanyeol who was looking confused.

Hands still rummaging through the other portraits Mrs. Byun had kept in here, he was searching for his portrait. He needed to prove it to Baekhyun, that he was once a man in the portrait. Baekhyun had to be told that he was the one Baekhyun once knew as a portrait. Baekhyun had to know that he wasn’t a human, that he just sacrificed his life for Baekhyun.

“Chanyeol…”

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol shouted, tears streaming down his face. Baekhyun was shocked, and he took a few steps backward. “Please… s-stay. Chanyeol n-needs… Baekhyun…” he finally said, hands reaching for Baekhyun’s. When they were finally held each other’s hands, Baekhyun was surprised to see that Chanyeol was trembling.

“Chanyeol, what do you want to tell me exactly?”

It was scary. The thought of leaving Baekhyun without even telling him the truth scared Chanyeol.

“B-Baekhyun… Ch-Chanyeol was—”

The sentence was interrupted when Baekhyun’s phone rang again, and this time around, Baekhyun had no choice but to pick up the phone. He gave Chanyeol a look of pity before he answered the call.

“All right, all right. I’m coming over. You stay there. Yes, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

When Baekhyun ended the call, Chanyeol knew he had no chance. He couldn’t even talk properly, tell Baekhyun who he was before, confess his feelings to Baekhyun and do things properly. He was just messed up, thinking of the fact that he was going to leave in any moment soon.

“Chanyeol…”

_Baekhyun, no._

“I have to go now.”

_No, Baekhyun. Please stay. You need to know who I am. I was a portrait._

“Yifan is waiting for me and I can’t let him stay there for another few hours.”

_I’ve been waiting for you forever, Baekhyun. Why can’t you remember me?_

“Besides, it’s already late, Chanyeol. Maybe you should go home now. You can just lock the house once you leave it. I trust you on this,” Baekhyun said, keeping his head low. He was still confused about what happened on the rooftop. He shouldn’t have let the male kiss him. He should’ve stayed away from Chanyeol. “I’m sure we can meet again next time. I spent a great day with a stranger. It feels… amazing. Thank you, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun smiled. Everything happened in a second. He knew he never got to see Baekhyun’s smiles forever. He could sense it.

And Baekhyun left without listening to Chanyeol’s whisper telling him not to go. He didn’t notice that Chanyeol was already crying, regretting his choice for everything.

Especially for loving Byun Baekhyun.

  
  
  


 

“Look at what you have done, Kai.”

Kai, who was sitting on a branch slowly looked up. He was searching for another non-living creatures that made prayers to turn into humans, and he still couldn’t find one. He smiled upon seeing a man wearing white clothes from head to toe, somewhat floating in the air.

“Who do we have here, a Timekeeper visiting me? What a pleasant surprise,” Kai simpered.

“Stop doing this already, Kai. This is too much!” The Timekeeper named Tao screamed in Kai’s face. His hair was swept back in anger, and he leaned forward so that he could overpower Kai with his height. But Kai seemed like he wasn’t scared of anything at the moment.

“Whoa, calm down, buddy. What kind of business do we have here?”

“You shouldn’t have done that to Chanyeol,”

“Chanyeol? Who is—oh… that Chanyeol. Now I remember,” Kai said as he recalled his memory. “Are we talking about that pitiful portrait?” Kai instantly laughed as he finished talking. Hearing Chanyeol’s name brought laughter to him, and he didn’t understand why would Tao be mad over something as pleasant as that portrait.

“Give him back his soul,” Tao threatened.

“Or else what?”

“You know I’m a Timekeeper. I can reverse the time back and change everything you have done to him. He doesn’t know anything!”

“Why are you defending him too much? Thousands of souls are with me and why does this person seem so important to you? Is there something going on that I don’t know about?” Kai sneered.

“Stop talking rubbish, Kai. You know you shouldn’t do that to anyone, especially to someone like him. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way!”

Kai stood up, chest heaving as he walked closer. “He’s the one who wanted to be a human. Did I do wrong? I gifted him a body for him to live in. That’s already written in the contract: If anyone wants to become a human, then he shall live not more than a day,” Kai said, taking his breaths in between the syllables. “He can’t live forever as a human. He wasn’t even  human in the first place.”

“The contract doesn’t even exist. You shouldn’t have turned him into a human without Lay’s permission! Now take back everything and give him his life!” Tao reminded Kai, that everything he did was totally wrong. Lay, the God never gave any permissions to do anything without consulting him first. Whatever Kai had done to Chanyeol was unforgivable and he should be punished for breaking the rules.

Kai laughed deviously. “That’s his fate.”

Scoffing, Tao looked away. “You’ll regret this later.”

As he took a few steps away from Kai, he suddenly heard Kai’s raspy voice. The air around them suddenly became heavy and cold.

“Try me,” Kai went on. “You know it yourself that the curse will not be broken when it’s done. He’ll be gone, and you’re already late. Turning back the time will not change anything.”

Tao knew that. Once a non-living creature turned into a human, he would die if he was given time to live his life. And Chanyeol was in the list too. But Tao couldn’t afford seeing Chanyeol receive such a fate. Chanyeol deserved a better life, and he shouldn’t be treated like he was a toy.

When Tao turned around, Kai’s eyes had already turned to blood red. He knew Kai won’t listen to him and nothing could be done anyway. Chanyeol’s soul was already in Kai’s possession, and Tao had no right to snatch it away from Kai. Tao realized he could do nothing to save Chanyeol from his ruthless fate because Chanyeol wasn’t meant to live as a human. And he left before he heard Kai give a sneering laugh, as if trying to mock Chanyeol’s fate and Tao’s effort to save the poor man.

  
  
  


 

“Well, hello there, young man.”

A cold yet so familiar voice greeted Chanyeol, leaving him to tremble unknowingly. He wasn’t ready for this. He didn’t want this. Chanyeol’s eyes gazed around, but he was the only person in the living room. He was about to leave the house after he had finally gathered up his thoughts and courage, to accept the fact that everything was too late. The lights from the lamp went dim out of a sudden, and the room eventually darkened until no light was there to illuminate the area. He brought his knees close to his chest, hugging his body tightly because he was afraid of what was coming. He knew Kai was there. He remembered that voice.

Suddenly, a shriek laughter was heard across the living room, and Chanyeol’s breaths hitched.

_K-Kai…_

“Are you ready?” The voice asked him.

Chanyeol looked around, still trying to find Kai. However, only darkness and fright accompanied him other than his cold voice. Chanyeol blinked in the darkness and tried to talk, but he had no voice.

_Please, give me some time. I need to see him for a moment._

“Your time is up and there’s nothing I can do,” Kai said, and his figure slowly appeared in the midst of the darkness. He was wearing the same black veil, and the same red eyes were staring at him. There was a raven on Kai’s left shoulder, and Kai was caressing its feathers.

_Please. I need more time. He has to remember who I am…_

“He doesn’t need to know who you are. If you’re an important person in his life, he would surely remember you right away.”

_But he is important to me…_

“That isn’t the most important matter here, young man. You’ve already got what you wished for, and it’s time for me to get what I’ve been wishing for,” Kai smiled cynically as his eyes shone in the blood red color. His voice was rough and raw. His laughter sounded devious, and his eyes turned to blue. Chanyeol had to cover his ears so that he wouldn’t hear fate laughing at him at that moment. His mind kept on replaying the past memories he’d had with Baekhyun, laughing at him and mocking him that he deserved such a fate.

It wasn’t enough. He needed more time to spend with Baekhyun. He knew he should’ve used up his time wisely, knowing that the chance only came once in his life. But he ruined it. Baekhyun was nowhere to be found now, and now he had to face Kai who was smirking the entire time, waiting for him to make up his mind.

Chanyeol wasn’t ready to leave. There was still a lot of things he needed to tell Baekhyun. He didn’t have the chance to tell Baekhyun that he was a beautiful man he had ever seen, that Baekhyun had the most lovely voice ever in the world that no one could ever compare to him and that he should proud of himself that at least, someone like Chanyeol had been admiring it. He hadn’t told Baekhyun that he really, really loved that man and Baekhyun wouldn’t know about it because he was so stupid for not telling the truth the moment they met. He was too late for all of that.

He slammed his fists on the floor until he was tired, curling his fingers so tightly and crying because it was too painful; everything inside him was throbbing.

“P-Please…” He eventually opened up his mouth, pleading. Regret and sorrow were apparent in his expression. He crawled over to Kai, who was startled when he saw Chanyeol trying to touch his black veil. But as soon as Chanyeol’s fingers almost touched it, Kai disappeared all of a sudden and appeared again behind Chanyeol, standing a bit far away from the crying man. Although his voice was too low, Kai could still hear his plea. The demon’s face contorted. He looked away, ignoring Chanyeol’s sorrowful stare and cry.

_He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way!_

Tao’s words were echoing in Kai’s mind, interrupting his focus on the raven on his shoulder. He stopped caressing its feathers and his ears perked up every time Chanyeol sobbed.

“K-Kai… please… h-help me…”

Kai didn’t answer. He diverted his eyes away from Chanyeol’s hopeful ones.

Chanyeol felt something collapse inside him. He looked down, eyes were welling up with tears.

When Kai turned around to look at Chanyeol and brought up his hands in the air, a gush of wind suddenly hit and whirled around them, leaving the latter to start panic. He had stopped crying because he knew, it was no use pleading and asking for Kai’s help because he won’t just listen. As Chanyeol closed his eyes, reviving the sweet and painful memories: from where he first opened his eyes to the world around him, from where Mr. Byun started talking to him as if the man knew Chanyeol understood everything, from where he’d fallen in love with Baekhyun, from where guilt crept inside him when he was stupid enough for not telling the truth to Baekhyun; another tear fell from his left eye, and he let everything go. Everything, including Byun Baekhyun.

The world around him was spinning so suddenly that he couldn’t see anything. Everything was pitch black, just like the first time he was turned into a human and started to see the light with his naked eyes. But this time, he wouldn’t see the light again forever. He wouldn’t see Baekhyun forever.

  
  
  


 

When Baekhyun returned home, the first thing he did was calling for Chanyeol’s name. The digital clock on the desk read almost three in the morning; he was so surprised that he talked to Yifan for almost three hours straight. His boyfriend had insisted that they should have a short talk because he missed him so much and he said he wouldn’t return to Korea until the next spring came. So, Baekhyun agreed to his suggestion, forgetting that he should be with someone else instead.

“Chanyeol!”

There was no answer. There was no sign of anyone in the house. He headed for the kitchen, but it was empty and quiet. He climbed up the stairs to the attic, switched on the bulb, and the room was lit in a dim light, but no one was there. He went to each bedroom in the house, trying to find any trace of Chanyeol, but again, no. No one was there in the house.

The silence almost killed him and he despised it. He reckoned Chanyeol had gone home after figuring out that Baekhyun wouldn’t return to the house. He scratched his head unknowingly before he walked towards the garden, surprised when he found a figure of a tall man there, standing in the dark. He thought that maybe Chanyeol was sitting all alone at the gazebo, gazing at the stars like what they did earlier.

“Chanyeol!” He smiled when he walked closer. “What are you doing there in the dark, Chanyeol?”

As he got closer, he realized something. The man wasn’t Chanyeol.

Baekhyun took a few steps back and studied the man’s face in the darkness as he tried to remember where he had seen him. “Who are you?”

As the silence followed, the man stepped forward, and Baekhyun could see his face clearly. His gaze was sharp, his raven black hair was swept back in a fixed style and he was wearing all white from head to toe. Baekhyun gulped down when the unknown man stood in front of him, and he noticed that there was too much difference of height between both of them. He had to tilt his head backward in order for him to see the man’s face.

“I’m looking for you.”

“Me?” Baekhyun awkwardly pointed a finger at himself. “Why?”

The man took a deep breath, before mouthing something ever so low, but was still clear to be heard. Baekhyun’s eyes went wide as soon as the man finished talking, and he ran inside the house, legs trembling and body sweating. He headed for the living room, the last place he placed all his belongings he brought with him that evening. The portrait, his duffel bag, two cups of coffee were there in the room.

The portrait was lying on the floor, waiting to be picked up by Baekhyun as soon as the male saw it. He hesitated at first, so he gathered his hands, heart thumping hard against his chest, and it was like he was already used to that kind of pain of separating with loved ones. He slightly bent his body to pick it up. He picked it up with trembling hands, because he already missed seeing Chanyeol’s face, already forgot how the man looked like. With trembling lips, hitching breaths; he lowered his body to get the portrait. Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun was completely hoping that he would see Chanyeol’s face again so that he didn’t forget how big Chanyeol’s ears were, how wide his smile was, how wide his brown eyes were and how entirely beautiful he was, he turned the portrait around so it was facing him. That was the moment when the portrait dropped on the floor, and Baekhyun’s world crumbled and faded into black, with no one to save him anymore. Not even he, himself.

How stupid could he be for not remembering anything at all. How dense could he be for being so ignorant and selfish. How foolish could he be for letting go of someone who gave him happiness even if it was for one day. How stupid Baekhyun could be for not noticing who Chanyeol was.

Everything was irreversible when he knew the truth. Time had left him when he realized it was already late.

He traced the line of the drawing of the picture with shaking fingers as he knelt on the floor, and in the end, a tear of regret rolled down his cheek. Memories with Chanyeol were replaying vigorously in his mind, trying to tell him that he deserved that, to lose everyone who once loved him.

When Baekhyun’s eyes went to look at the portrait again, everything looked the same. Baekhyun, who was smiling all wide yet feeling nervous on the inside because someone beside him on the bench was the reason to his nervousness, the reason to why his heart was beating so fast it hurt. The only thing that differed now was, he was the only one appeared in the portrait. The canvas appeared to be so empty, as if it was telling him that someone should be there with him, smiling with him. But again, Baekhyun was the only one appeared in the portrait because Chanyeol wasn’t there anymore. Baekhyun’s heart broke at that thought, his heart clenched as he sobbed, gasping for some air but he caught nothing. Everything appeared to be impossible when Chanyeol wasn’t there. Everything seemed almost impossible.

And it was because Chanyeol wasn’t there anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can always find me here: tinkzoned.flavors.me
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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